The Lost Angel: When I Leave the World Behind
by MrZ1289
Summary: After a rough couple of years, Harry disappears on May 2, 2000. Four years later, a pair of Dark Wizards attack and Harry is once again needed. However, no one knows where he is. Can someone from his past reach him?
1. I

**May 2, 2000**

**8:44 PM**

**Hogwarts Castle**

****As he stood and looked at the castle that once been his only home, he realized that so much had changed. So much in so little time. On his eleventh birthday, a half-giant named Hagrid came to him and explained to him that he was a wizard, a being of intense magical power. Ten months later, he faced his mortal enemy, Lord Voldemort, for the first time.

In his second year, he fought the memory of Tom Riddle and his basilisk.

In year three, the prisoner known as Sirius Black escaped from the magical prison of Azkaban. This terror, imprisoned for the slaughter of thirteen Muggles, actually turned out to be innocent AND Harry's godfather.

Returning for his forth year, Harry was entered into a deadly magic competition between much older students from two other magical schools. At the end of the tournament, Harry witnessed the return of Lord Voldemort.

After surviving the encounter, he was slandered through the press over the next year by the Ministry of Magic and its cowardly Minister, Cornelius Fudge. However, it was at the end of this year that everything changed. During a battle at the Department of Mysteries, his godfather was pushed through the Veil of Death, a one-way trip to the land of the dead. After destroying much of Albus Dumbledore's office, he learned that a prophecy between himself and Lord Voldemort existed. This prophecy named Harry as the only one who could match Lord Voldemort in battle and succeed.

The news of this prophecy shocked Harry. He knew that much had been hidden from him over the years. However, he couldn't possible imagine being bound by prophecy in this battle.

Over the next year, Harry prepared to battle Lord Voldemort, learning everything he could from the man. However, at the end of the year, another blow was struck to Harry in the death of his mentor, Albus Dumbledore.

After his death, Harry spent the next year searching for Horcruxes, pieces of Lord Voldemort's soul trapped within physical objects. Harry's quest eventually led to the collection of the Deathly Hallows, three magnificently powerful objects.

In the end, Harry took control of the Elder Wand and was able to defeat Lord Voldemort and finally end years of battle against the Darkest Wizard of All Time.

Or so he thought.

For a year after The Battle of Hogwarts, things were fine. Harry entered into the Auror Academy, quickly passing his exams and joining the ranks of the Aurors. On June 30th, the memorial for the Battle of Hogwarts was built and Harry was there to see its commemoration. Seeing the memorial, he thought that things could finally go back to normal. He couldn't have imagined how wrong he was.

He had tried to get back together with Ginny, thinking that he could resume the relationship they had started at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, at the one-year celebration and memorial of the end of Lord Voldemort, Harry finally realized how much he had changed over the years. There was a bit of Ginny that still treated him like a hero, someone to be worshipped. With the war over, that was the last thing that Harry wanted. And so, one year after the death of Lord Voldemort, Harry ended things with Ginny.

Then came the investigation. What a horrible experience that was.

After that, it was the lawsuit. It left him with nothing.

The marriage of Ron and Hermione was the only bright spot in this time, a shining light that just maybe happiness could prevail.

However that thought was firmly squashed by the call from Arthur and Molly Weasley. Ginny, in her saddened stated after Harry's dismissal of her, had tried to kill herself. She had been unsuccessful but for Harry, that had finally been enough. He had left nothing but death and misery to everyone he knew and decided that he was going to drink himself to death. Unfortunately, Harry was found drunk wandering down Downing Street in London by a couple of off-duty Aurors.

Between the investigation, the lawsuit, and the numerous drunken exploits that followed, Gawain Robards, Head of the Auror Office, decided that Harry was no longer a prime candidate to protect the witches and wizards of England. He was subsequently dismissed as an Auror.

It was in the moment that he sat in Robards' office as he was delivered the news that Harry decided he was leaving. He no longer had the same death wish that he had had over the past few months. He just wanted to protect his friends from the influence he seemed to have on anyone.

So, here he was at Hogwarts Castle, the first home he had ever known and the last place he would visit before leaving. He hadn't told anyone that he was leaving or where he was going. He only hoped that they would be able to forget about him and move on with their lives. He looked up at the castle, knowing he would never see it again.

"Goodbye." he said firmly. No tears fell and his resolve was strong. Then, with a swift turn, he made the short walk back to Hogsmeade, where he instantly Apparated away from that place and into the unknown.


	2. II

**January 19, 2004**

**1:11 AM**

**Interrogation and Holding Cells at the Ministry of Magic**

"How long have we had him?" Kingsley asked his aid as they rushed down to the end of the hall. This hall housed every criminal awaiting trial in Wizarding England. However, it also housed one who would certainly become the first person to ever be condemned to die if he went to trial.

However, Kingsley, being the diplomat that he was, figured that he could save this man. If he gave the information they wanted, that is.

"Weasley brought him in an hour ago." one of the Minister's junior aides said as he struggled to keep up with the length of the Minister's strides.

"Good. No press?"

"No one's been notified that we know of." his aides confirmed.

"Wonderful." Kingsley said as they reached the last door. Without a moment's hesitation, Kinglsey burst inside the room. Inside was Ron Weasley, one-third of the Golden Trio and one of the best young Aurors they had. With him was his partner, John Dawlish, who due to his work with Voldemort's Ministry and a long list of stupid decisions, was actually the Junior partner of the pair. Needless to say, it wasn't him that caught the man who was on the other side of the glass.

The room was laid out just like any other interrogation room. In the middle of the room was a viewing window that connected two rooms. On one side, the side they were on now, was the viewing area. It was here that those working for the prosecution watched as criminals spilled their guts all over the room. On the other side was the interrogation room. Mildly different from the typically Muggle room, there was only a single chair in the room. On the outside of the chair was a circle. When the suspect was brought in, they were seated in the chair. Then, the room was "activated." Any attempt by either part to cross the line would result in a horrifying jolt. The room itself was the brainchild of one, Harry Potter.

"Minister." Ron said as he noticed the Minister walk into the room. He slowly turned and extended his hand, taking the Minister's hand firmly. "We've got him."

"Fantastic work, Ron." Kingsley beamed. "Were you waiting for me to start the show?"

"We were, actually." Ron said with a smile as he nodded to the guard in the corner. The guard opened the door to the interrogation room and nodded to the other guard inside. Seeing this, that guard opened his door. Instantly, someone was pushed roughly through the door. The guard grabbed them and walked them roughly to the chair, throwing them down into it. He leaned in and gave the man a warning before turning and nodding to the guard on Ron's side.

He knew this meant that they were ready to go. Ron slowly walked through the door, file in hand, ready to begin.

The moment the door closed behind him, he could feel the energy of the room, just like he had been able to every other time that he had used this room. Ron stared at the man for a moment before stepping behind the suspect, so that he couldn't see him.

"The Champion. The Bolt. The Elite. The Gladiator."

The man seated seemed to not hear him for he didn't acknowledge him.

"I'm sorry. I believe I said your name." Ron said mockingly.

Again, no response.

"Le Tueur or The Killer. Le Proche or The Close. Do any of these ring a bell?"

Surprisingly, the man still did nothing. Finally, Ron stepped around him and looked him dead in the eye. Ron could tell that he had been wealthy. His fingernails were properly trimmed and his haircut was perfect. His dress suggested someone with a significant amount of money, a tidy business suit with diamond cufflinks.

"The Frenchman."

"Finally, you say my _real _name." he said quickly, relishing the attention of his self-proclaimed moniker.

"No." Ron replied quickly. "I did not. If I wanted to call you by your real name, I would have called you Bruno."

"Bruno? I know no BRUNO!"

"You do, Bruno Christoph AKA The Frenchman, for you ARE Bruno Christoph. The same man responsible for the deaths of 149 Frenchman, 144 Englishmen, and 100 Spaniards. You are the terrorist responsible for the attack on the Quidditch World Cup two years ago. You attacked the Beauxbatons Academy for Magic last year and you were the head of a group that planned on attacking the ten year memorial for the Battle of Hogwarts in five months."

Suddenly, The Frenchman laughed. Not a mocking laugh or a chuckle. Instead, it was a hearty laugh, one of true mirth, that he felt down into his toes. Ron waited awkwardly as the man roared with laughter. Finally, he calmed down and drew his attention back to Ron.

"You honestly think that I ran that operation?" he said. Ron noticed that he seemed to have no French in his English. Instead, he sounded exactly like an Englishman. Surprising from a man born and raised in Marseilles.

"We've been capturing informants, suppliers, and set-up men for months. All of their information led to you." Ron replied with a sneer.

"Maybe it led to me. But whoever said I was in charge?" The Frenchman said with a cackle. Ron hated the cackle more than anything. It was the ultimate sign that the suspect was trying to control the situation. Ron knew that he never dealt with it well.

"Listen to me, Christoph." Ron shot back, refusing to acknowledge him by his moniker. "With all of the attacks that you've planned over the past few years, you were number one on our shit list. Now, you could become the first man condemned to death under the laws set forth by the Ministry of Magic."

"What's the big deal? Maybe that was my plan."

"I don't think so." Ron replied as he conjured a chair and sat as close to the man as he could get. "Here's the deal. You say that you didn't plan this attack. Maybe I believe you, maybe I don't. However, none of that matters right now. What matters is the information you give me now. If the information you give me turns out to be true, then we may only be able to get you on murder and you'll get 50 years in Azkaban. But, if you refuse to talk or if you lie, you die. I know for a fact that the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will turn you inside out during your trial."

"Could it be because you're married to her?" The Frenchman replied, matching Ron's sneer. The instant mentioning of his estranged wife caused his blood to start pumping. Hermione had moved out nearly six months ago and the two rarely spoke, despite the fact that they technically worked in the same Department. Ron's constant work delays caused him to break numerous dates and miss important events. Hermione's role as the Head of the Department also conflicted with their romance and it had finally come to a head between the two seven months prior when Hermione, in a fit of rage that no one still in England could control, drew her wand on Ron and blasted him through three walls. Ron still harbored hopes that they could reconcile but even for the eternal optimist in him, he thought she was gone.

"That probably has something to do with it." Ron replied succinctly as he stood from his seat and made his way to the door. Before he knocked, he turned back to the Frenchman. "You have twenty-four hours."

Ron turned and was just about to knock for the guard to open the door when the suspect replied.

"I have an answer for you."

Slowly, Ron turned around and approached the seated man.

"And?"

"I will talk."

"Tha-"

"To Harry Potter." he replied, interrupting Ron's faux gratitude. The mention of his friend's name stopped him dead in his tracks. No one knew where Harry was. Andromeda received the occasional letter from him and he had even sent her to Greece so he could visit her once. That had been the closest they had been to finding him. However, when Ron and Hermione began to move in, Harry seemed to sense their presence and disappeared without a moment's notice. Ten months later, Hermione attacked Ron. He secretly thought that they both knew the reason behind their problems had nothing to do with work.

"You know just like everyone else that no one knows where Harry Potter is." Ron replied shortly, trying to hide his surprise.

"Find him. He's the only one I talk to." The Frenchman said before turning back to the guard. "I'm done talking to him."

Ron was forced to step out the room so that it could be disabled. The moment the door behind him was locked, The Frenchman spoke again.

"My boss is going to be quite displeased with recent events. Damn it all to hell."

Ron did everything he could to get back into the room, to ask him what he meant. But the door was locked and there was nothing he could do. He turned back to the room and noticed that no one really wanted to look at him. Kingsley stepped forward and leaned in towards Ron.

"My office. 7 AM. Get some sleep." he said before rushing out of the room.

* * *

**7:00 AM**

**The Office of the Minister of Magic**

Just as Kingsley had said, Ron was present for a meeting with the Minister of Magic at precisely seven the next morning. He also wasn't the only one invited. Also, present at the meeting was Hermione and Ron's father, Arthur. Arthur was two months away from taking the Minister's job from Kingsley, who was retiring. In the general election, held three months prior, Arthur had held nearly 90% of the votes. He was incredibly popular to say the least.

Ron obviously wasn't worried about Kingsley or his father. It was Hermione who had him on edge. While she hadn't seemed to notice that he was actually in the room, he knew that she had to be thinking about a lot of the same things that he was. She was just better at hiding it.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming." Kingsley said, doing his best to ignore the incredibly strange vibe in the room. "As you no doubt know, Aurors Weasley and Dawlish captured the terrorist Bruno Christoph known as The Frenchman. At a little after one, Ron interrogated the suspect. We learned some very interesting things."

"What in particular?" Hermione asked roughly. Her M.O. in meetings was legendary. Hermione had always been cutthroat when she needed to be. But after Harry's disappearance, she had changed into a whole other animal. Not even Kingsley dared stand in her way of something. Her success rate for new laws was nearly perfect. Those that didn't help her often ended in horrible Ambassador positions in Siberia or Saudi Arabia. Not the high profile work that most Ambassadors looked for.

"First of all, Christoph states that he is not the leader of his terrorist group."

"Bullocks." Hermione spat. "We know its him."

"Don't be so sure." Ron replied sharply. "Christoph is the definition of an attention hog. The man loved being in the interrogation room, knowing he was being watch. He would have admitted if this was his."

"Are you certain?" Arthur asked him.

"Absolutely." Ron replied.

"So that means we're looking for _another _Dark Wizard? Where do they all come from?" Arthur asked in shock.

"That's not the only thing that we _learned." _Kingsley replied, obviously dreading what he was about to say next. "Christoph will only speak to one man."

"Great." Hermione said while rolling her eyes. "Another criminal informant who thinks he can jerk us around. Who does he want to talk to? Me? Ron? Even you?"

"No."

"Well then who?"

"Harry." Ron interjected softly. "He wants to talk to Harry."

As the second mention of his friend's name left his lips, he watched the effect they had on Hermione. Any edge that she carried disappeared. She slouched in her chair and nearly dropped the pen that she had been vehemently taking notes with. The look on her face went from one with power and a generally destructive nature to one that was vulnerable at best.

"Harry?" Arthur asked softly. "Like our Harry?"

All Ron could do was nod in reply. His eyes were locked on Hermione. He watched as she sunk into a visible funk, one that she was not likely to fall out of soon. She looked like she was on the verge of both tears and running out of the room. It was only her immense stubbornness and courage that kept her strong and glued to her chair.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked Ron as she really looked at him for the first time. For a moment, they weren't fighting any more. They were just two-thirds of the Golden Trio, looking for the missing piece.

"I wouldn't lie about this, 'Mione. We absolutely must find him."

"That's going to be easier said that done." Kingsley replied. "We've been on the lookout for any information on Harry for eight years. We spotted him twice. Both times, he knew that we were coming before even we did. Personally, I think that he intentionally slips up every once in awhile, just to let us know he's still alive."

"Harry..." Hermione whispered softly. "Where was the last slip?"

"Tulsa, Oklahoma." Arthur replied. "I was part of the team that got sent there to go over the information. I feel that he definitely knew we were coming."

"Which means that if we are serious about finding Harry, we have to make this one of the most silent missions we've ever performed." Ron said softly, as if saying it too loudly would ruin the secret. "Harry is one of the most gifted wizards I've ever seen and he's more than likely got all of the best security bells and whistles."

"Moody would have been proud of him." Kingsley added.

"Damn straight he would have. Either way, are we saying that we need to do this?" Hermione asked.

"We have information that there is AT LEAST one more wizard out there that intends to take over the world and kill us all. The only way to get more information is to find Harry. I think we have to." Arthur replied.

"I agree." Ron added.

"I'm with them." Kingsley finished.

The four of them looked around the room, realizing what they had just decided. They were going to try and secretly spy on and convince the hero of the Second War to return home. This man, who was the fastest to ever complete Auror Training, who became a Senior Auror in less than a year, and the man who had successfully dueled 14 Romanian terrorist and WON, was their target.

"We must be insane." Hermione finally added.

"We need to be." Ron agreed. "Otherwise, we'll never know whether this guy is jerking our chain."

"So, how do we do it?" Hermione asked Kingsley.

"Well, all rumors basically state that Harry doesn't fly, Apparate, or Floo. He may ride a bike, buy a bus ticket, or occasionally ride a train. However, he typically walks. Which means that he doesn't travel quickly. When was he spotted in Tulsa?"

"20 months ago." Ron replied knowingly.

"That means that he's got to be somewhere in the Western Hemisphere." Arthur returned. "What we should do is contact our American Ambassador and get them to work out a collaborative effort to find him."

"Who's our American Ambassador?" Ron asked.

"Cho Chang got appointed to the position two years ago. She's been fantastic. Relations have never been better between us and she's largely the reason." Kingsley answered with much more information than needed.

"Fantastic. Maybe once they locate him, Cho can go herself." Hermione said softly. "Hopefully someone like her could jog his memory without scaring him away."

"I certainly hope so." Arthur responded.

"Me too." Ron added.

"I'll make the call in the next hour or so." Kingsley said, indicating that this meeting was over. Ron quickly stood up and packed up his briefcase. Slowly, he stepped outside and waited for Hermione. Moments later, Hermione stepped out of the door and blew right passed him. Unfortunately, he still had a lot of work to do in getting back into Hermione's good graces. Maybe having Harry back could make things better.

Some things certainly never change, Ron thought to himself. Harry hasn't been here for eight years and I'm still expecting him to save the world.

Ron prayed that they would find him. Otherwise, Harry's defeat of Voldemort could end up being a total waste.


	3. III

**January 21, 2004**

**9:23 AM**

**Ron Weasley's office**

Ron had been in the office for nearly three hours when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." he said softly without looking up from the maps that covered his desk. He was looking at maps of the entire Western Hemisphere that gave indications of the levels of magic found in the area. The map was split into two categories: natural magic and human magic. If Ron knew Harry as well as he thought, Harry would stick to places with just above no magic. If he went to places with too much magic, people were bound to spot him and that was exactly the last thing he wanted.

However, if stuck to places with just above no magic, he probably wouldn't get noticed too much and he would still be able to avoid being detected.

Hermione stepped into the office and sat down next to Ron's desk. Despite his overwhelming desire to make things work with Hermione, he couldn't bare to let his guard down around her. That's why he refused to look up from his work, even though he knew that it was her.

Ron hadn't seen Hermione since the meeting in Kingsley's office the day earlier and he wasn't surprised that when he did finally look up, she looked like death warmed over.

"Get some sleep." Ron said roughly before looking back down at the maps.

"Are you having any luck?" Hermione asked him. It was questions like this that drove him crazy. Ron knew that he wasn't Hermione Weasley or Harry Potter. Hell, he probably wasn't even Ginny Weasley. But, he was still a damned fine wizard. Whenever Hermione was trying to make up to him, she started asking him stupid questions. Ron wasn't sure why. It didn't make him feel better, especially when he didn't know the answer.

Ron didn't know exactly how to react to this question. So, he simply looked up and gave her the straightest answer he could think of.

"Hermione, I have to search over nearly 42 million kilometers of land for one man. However, I'm not searching for some regular bloke. I'm searching for Harry. Not only is it personal, I'm search for Harry goddamn Potter, one of the most elusive men in the entire world. He's eluded the most powerful wizarding government in the world for eight years! And I have to do all this before the buddy of the psycho-French guy that we have in custody blows something else up. Now, Mrs. Weasley, you tell me if I'm having a lot of luck!" Ron yelled, finishing his monologue with a shout.

Instantly, Hermione stood up with a huff.

"I knew there was a reason I left."

Then, she turned and did just that.

Straight, apparently, was not the direction he should have gone with that answer.

"Damn it." Ron whispered to himself as he tried to pull himself back into the maps in front of him. Again, despite his wishes, his fury at Hermione got the better of him. There was just something about that woman that could get his knickers in a pinch at a moment's notice.

* * *

**January 22, 2004**

**3:21 AM**

Ron had worked obsessively for the next eighteen hours. He never got up to eat or to drink or even to use the facilities. No, he sat and sent message after message to American representatives, asking if they had traced Harry's magical signature at any point during the last twenty months. Ron didn't bother wasting time with larger cities. He knew that Harry wouldn't hide there.

For hour after hour, Ron got numerous owls back saying that no one had seen, sensed or heard from Harry Potter in the last twenty months. A number of Floo messages told him the same thing. Just when Ron was about to give up for the night and day, he got something.

A letter from Cho Chang that made everything he had done for the last two-thirds of a day worth it.

_Ron,_

_After working hard all day trying to find something that would help, I may have found it. The United States is a strange nation. Each of their 50 states has a representative that I can contact at any time. Well, when Hermione sent me her orders to look for Harry, I instantly got to work contacting them to see what they've heard. I got a lot of no's but I did manage to get four replies that may help. The representatives from California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska have all had a large number of rumored Harry Potter sightings. While Harry isn't nearly as famous here as he is at home, he's still a recognizable face. The number of sightings can't be a coincidence. If you need anything else from me, just let me know._

_Cho_

Cho had always been dependable and nothing appeared to have changed. Ron pulled out his maps of the western coast of the United States and saw that the rumors of Harry's sightings fell in a perfect order. He simply needed to know more.

_Cho,_

_I need a list of when and where Harry was sighted. Also, if he stayed the night anywhere, I need to know. I'm going to go check with Minister Shacklebolt and Minister-in-waiting Weasley and see what they think we should do moving forward. As it is, I'm giving you orders to make your way to Los Angeles. _

_In the future, these sightings would have been nice to know when they happened._

_Thanks, Ron_

Ron quickly threw the envelope into the Floo fire in the corner of the room, sending it directly back to Cho in the US. He would know soon exactly where Harry had been and when. It was the best he could do for right now. Ron, after nearly 22 hours of being seated at his desk, finally stood up, grabbed his coat, and Apparated home where he found a very cold and lonely bed.

He laid in bed for nearly forty minutes thinking of Hermione and Harry.

_Maybe, just maybe, we can all be together again._

* * *

**January 22, 2004**

**10:03 AM**

**Ron Weasley's office**

After getting just a few hours of sleep, and after one of the longest work days he had ever had, Ron returned to work. Dawlish usually worked from home on Mondays and therefore, when he finally got in at a few minutes after 10 in the morning, Ron had a lot to fill him in on. Dawlish hadn't aged well in the ten years since the Battle of Hogwarts. He was nearly sixty years old now and walked with a significant limp, a result of Augusta Longbottom's attack on him in 1998. He often came in with a large flask full of what he called coffee. However, Ron wasn't stupid and he knew for a fact that there was usually more firewhiskey than coffee in it. But, Dawlish did his job and Ron decided that he didn't want to have to report the older officer, namely because it would cause a ton more paperwork than he needed.

"Sit down, John." Ron said softly. "We have to talk."

"Great." Dawlish growled as he took his seat in the chair on the opposite side of Ron's desk. "Every time we have to talk, you have something bad to tell me or something that I need to hide. What is it this time?"

Ron ignored the surly attitude of his partner and instead focused on answering the question.

"Cho Chang tracked down Harry's trail on the west coast of the United States. She's moving to Los Angeles and is waiting our orders." Ron started. "Now, ten minutes ago, I sent an owl to both Kingsley and my father. Once they get back to me, we'll meet with them and they'll tell us how to move forward."

"Will we be going to the U.S.?" Dawlish asked with interest.

"If it was next month and my father had taken office, probably. However, with The Frenchman's remark that he has a boss and Kingsley's background as an Auror, I think we'll be stuck instructing Chang from here."

"Great."

As Dawlish expressed his disinterest in remaining in London, a paper airplane flew through the door and landed on Ron's desk. Ron quickly opened and read it.

_Ron,_

_Meet outside the Minister's office in four minutes. Bring Dawlish with you. The meeting will include the two of you, Minister Shacklebolt, Department Head Hermione Weasley, and myself. Percy will be there as Senior Undersecretary._

_Arthur Weasley, Head of the Muggle Liaison Office and Minister-in-Waiting_

"Let's go." Ron said hastily as he stood up and rushed out of the room. Four minutes was significant in the Ministry. Rather than saying a meeting started in five minutes, which would be relatively standard, they said four minutes to indicate that there is definitely a reason to rush. Even Dawlish with his limp caught on that there was a reason to be hasty.

Thankfully, the Minister's office was only one level down from the Auror bullpen. A quick trip down the stairs and they were in the Minister's office. As they opened the door, they saw that they were the last group to get there.

"What's the issue?" Ron said as he took a place next to his brother who had already begun taking notes.

"The Czech Ministry in Prague issued their distress warning twenty minutes ago." Kingsley said firmly. Although Ron was worried about this, he was also confused.

"Why were we called up here? If you're going to send in support, shouldn't you be talking to Robards?" Ron asked while his mind tried to process a number of possibilities.

"No, Ron. We shouldn't." Hermione said firmly. She appeared to have regained her strength from yesterday and she was staring at him with one of the most vile looks that Ron could remember seeing from her.

"Why not?" Dawlish asked next to Ron.

"Because our Czech ambassador said that someone dressed in clown makeup and speaking in Russian was leading an assault on the Czech ministry. While this normally wouldn't necessarily make it our problem, what does make it our problem is this." Hermione replied, handing Ron a piece of paper.

_Для Рона Уизли: Вы считаете, что вы управляете миром. Вы думаете, чтозахват одного уголовного спасет вас. Вы жалкие думать, что кто-то иличто-то может спасти вас._

У вас есть француз. Я приду к нему, если вы не вернете его мне.

Шут

"What does it say?" Ron asked once he was finished looking it over.

"I convinced one of our best Russian translators to look at it." Arthur said as he withdrew another piece of paper. "This is the gist of it."

Taking the paper that Arthur had in his hand, Ron was able to read this version.

_To Ron Weasley: You believe that you control the world. You think that capturing one criminal will save you. You are pathetic to think that anyone or anything can save you._

_You have The Frenchman. I will come for him if you do not return him to me._

_The Jester_

"This person is The Frenchman's boss." Ron stated.

"That's what can be assumed, yes." Kingsley answered.

"How did we get this?" Dawlish asked. Ron had actually been thinking the same question for the last several minutes. He was glad that his partner had gotten to it.

"An owl got here just as the distress signal went up." Kingsley replied. "I'm not sure why it didn't go to you."

"Why did he attack the Czechs instead of here?"

"Maybe he thought we were too well defended or that we were ready for an attack because we have Christoph." Arthur replied softly.

Ron stood up and began pacing around the room. His mind raced as he considered all of the things that he had just learned. The Czech Ministry in Prague was down attacked by someone known as The Jester. Not only did this person have to be incredibly organized in order to attack and take down an entire Ministry, Prague obviously wasn't even their target. He was. While he was glad to finally know the general identity of The Frenchman's superior, the fact that he seemed to be incredibly powerful and cunning didn't exactly make him feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"I want to go to Prague." Ron concluded out loud. "Even if this Jester character has already left, I want to see what he did to the Czech Ministry. Maybe we can learn something about his tactics."

"Ron, we can't send you to Prague." Arthur replied harshly. "Not when we know that The Jester's real target is you and here. Sending you directly to him is something we simply cannot do."

"I agree with Arthur." Kingsley nodded.

Ron had long gotten over his tendency to get frustrated easily. He was far more patient than he had been in the past and he was definitely more interested in following orders and listening to others than he had been during his time in school. However, that isn't to say that this version of Ron was totally gone.

"Kingsley, Dad, I'm sorry but I'm going." Ron said sharply before turning around and heading towards the door.

"RON!"

Ah, the one he never counted on ruining his plans was, of course, going to ruin them again. Ron slowly rotated back to the room to see that Hermione had stood up and rushed over to him. She stood a few inches away from him, staring at him intensely.

"Why do you want to go?" she whispered to him.

"Cho Chang sent me a list of places where Harry has been sighted since Tulsa. Apparently, the American Ministry was just sitting on this information."

"What do these two things have to do with each?"

"If we could take a team to Prague and capture or kill The Jester now, we could go search for Harry afterwards. We wouldn't have to convince him that he needed to come back to fight for us. We would just be able to say that we miss him and that we need him back."

Hermione appeared to be thinking about what Ron had said. Suddenly, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"Now, there's the man I married." she said before turning back to Arthur and Kingsley. "I am authorizing Ron to take a team of Aurors to Prague. They will be there to observe and assist only."

"Hermione, I can't let you do that." Kingsley said as he began to rub his eyes. "Don't make me pull rank on you."

"Trust me." Hermione said strongly. "Let him go. It will make everything better in the end."

Ron looked at everyone in the room. Percy seemed to agree with Hermione and Arthur looked like he was leaning in her direction. It was only Kingsley that remained. Only Hermione could give everyone so little information and yet convince everyone in the room that she was right. I guess that was just one of the advantages of being Hermione Weasley, brightest witch of her age.

Finally, Kingsley broke into a smile.

"Damn you two. Ron, take Dawlish and another pair of Aurors." Kingsley ordered as he sunk into his chair.

"Will do, sir." Ron replied as he rushed out of the office, heading back toward his office. Just as he got to the bottom of the stairs, he called out to the closest Aurors he could find.

"Proudfoot! Savage! Are you on assignment today?"

"Sure are, Weasley, why what's the hub-bub?" Savage replied.

"Do you have any assignments?" Ron asked again, more urgently.

"Nope." Proudfoot replied pompously.

"Get up. You do now." Ron said seriously. Instantly, the two Aurors jumped out of their chairs and fell in line behind Ron.

"What's going on?" Proudfoot asked.

"The Czech Ministry has gone dark." Dawlish informed them. "We think it has something to do with The Frenchman."

"Damn."

Ron rushed back towards his office, pushing his way passed numerous Aurors and other officials that littered the cluttered pathways between the cubicles of the Junior Aurors and Aurors-in-Training. Once he and the rest of his small team was packed inside his tiny office, Ron drew his wand and with a wave, a roaring fire blazed in the small fireplace.

"What can we expect when we get there?" Proudfoot asked as he drew his wand, handling it nervously.

"Absolutely no idea. We'll Floo directly into the Lobby of the Czech Ministry. I imagine that we can expect pandemonium and lots of mayhem. Just keep cool and watch each other's backs and we'll all be fine." Ron replied firmly.

"What's the goal?" Savage asked as he too drew his wand.

"The guy in charge is called The Jester." Dawlish replied. "We think he's the one working with The Frenchman."

"Capture?" Savage asked again.

"Kill." Ron replied. "We'll be out of jurisdiction. We can't bring him back here to go to trial."

"Ron, isn't that a bit-"

"Kill."

"Fine."

Ron grabbed the bag on the top of the fireplace that was full of Floo Powder. Throwing some into the fire, he watched as it turned a bright green. He stepped in the fire, feeling that same sensation he had felt thousands of times.

"Czech Ministry!"

In an instant, he felt the rush as he was sucked away into nothingness and back into existence again.

* * *

Seconds later, Ron reappeared in the most depressing scene he had ever witnessed. Moments earlier, he had told his team to expect chaos. Instead, they were faced with the opposite. Bodies lie all over the floor, some bloodied and others staring blankly at the ceiling. This wasn't an attack. It was a massacre.

"Oh my god." Dawlish said softly as he stepped out of the fireplace just after Ron.

Savage and Proudfoot appeared moments later and shared their horror. The four of them looked around the main lobby of the Czech Ministry and saw that no one remained alive.

"This is terrible." Proudfoot whispered. "They never had a chance."

"No kidding." Ron said as he began to search the rest of the level. "We need to split up and keep searching. Savage, find a lift and go to the top. Work your way down from there. Proudfoot, do the opposite. Dawlish, I want you to work this level."

"Where are you going?" Dawlish asked him.

"I'm going to the Minister's office. It's on the second floor. I know that this building has a ton of secret rooms in it. If there's any kind of senior leadership left, they're there."

"Sounds good, boss." Dawlish replied as he started off towards the offices.

"Good. Constant vigilance guys." Ron said.

"You know we were Aurors when Moody was retiring." Proudfoot said slowly. "You can't use that on us."

Ron looked over and saw that all three of them had small smirks on their faces.

"Sorry." Ron said sheepishly as he headed off by himself.

As he walked into the first set of offices, looking for a set of stairs, he immediately began to notice some very strange things. The first was the total lack of destruction. As he moved, he noticed no desks destroyed, no shelves overturned, and there weren't piles of parchment anywhere. Even if everyone got hit by the Killing Curse, the fact that no one had missed and hit a cabinet or blown a hole in a wall was incredibly surprising.

The other things that bothered him was the total lack of survivors. No one laid on the floor coughing up blood or moaning in pain. No one. Ron began processing this information as he rushed up the stairs at the far corner of the room. Once he reached the second level, he didn't waste any time searching for clues. Instead, he sprinted down the empty hallways to the end of the hall where the Minister's office was. Ron had been here once with Hermione four years ago and it certainly made things much easier than if he had no clue of the building's layout.

Reaching the end of the hall, Ron ripped the Minister's door open. Once he was inside, he instantly began searching for hidden chambers or a book that had the information for those hidden chambers. He scanned the bookshelves and the filing cabinets and couldn't find anything. He looked all over the room. He was looking at the desk, facing away from the door, when a voice spoke up.

"Looking for this?"

He had been caught off guard. Ever since going through Auror training with Harry, he was almost impossible to sneak up on.

"You're good." Ron said as he slowly turned around.

He was surprised by what he saw. Where he had been expecting a powerfully built man, grinning maniacally at him, stood a slight framed body wearing a black cloak and a mask with a smiling clown face on it. She held a book that Ron was certain held the maps for the secret tunnels of the Czech Ministry.

"The Jester." Ron said in shock. "Mildly different than what I expected."

"Good." The Jester replied shortly.

Suddenly, it dawned on Ron. Everything that he had been feeling weird about since he got there was lining up for him.

"An inside job." Ron said revealingly.

"Very good. It took you long enough, Weasley."

"You killed everyone here hours ago. Fixed everything up to throw me off. Then, when you had everything set up, you threw up the distress signal and sent the message."

"The great Ron Weasley couldn't help himself." The Jester replied softly. "You have a saving people thing."

"No, I believe that was someone else." Ron replied snidely. "Regardless, you sent the signal, knowing that I would come. You also knew that I knew about the Minister's obsession with secret passages."

"The Minister was killed by one of my men inside one of his silly tunnels."

"Fantastic. I take that my men have been taken care of." Ron assumed out loud.

"They were dead moments after they left your sight."

"What's your play? Why me? The Frenchman is in prison, you could have attacked there."

"I could. But, I knew that if there's anyone that could have thrown a wrench in my plans, it was you. So, I will kill you here. Then, I will go to London where I will kill your father, brother, and wife."

"I doubt that." Ron replied as he quickly drew his wand and leveled it.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

The green jet flew from Ron's wand directly at The Jester. However, at the last moment, she shifted and caused the curse to miss entirely. Then, she began to launch the greatest silent barrage that Ron had ever seen. She made no noise and seemed to be using little effort at all. Ron couldn't even keep up with her. Finally, what appeared to be a Cutting Curse broke through Ron's defense and slashed his arm open.

Ron yelled as he fell to the floor, clutching his arm as he tried to control the bleeding. However, if Ron thought the cut on his arm was bad, it was nothing compared to what was going to happen next. Suddenly, Ron was flying through the air, slamming into the bookcases that lined the far wall. Again, he cried out as he felt his ribs break upon impact.

What happened next Ron wasn't sure. All he knew what was that he was thrown about the room like a rag doll. He could taste blood and could feel that large portions of most of the bones in his body were broken. Finally, Ron collapsed to the ground as The Jester let his body rest.

"So pathetic. I imagine that I would get so much more from the great Ronald Bilus Weasley."

"F-f-fuck you." Ron replied defiantly as he spit out blood and teeth.

"Not on your life." The Jester replied as he lifted his wand.

_Return. _Ron heard it in his head, like a foreign thought, one that was placed there rather than thought by his own mind. He was certain that he imagined it. He knew that it simply related to his overwhelming desire to have Harry return.

Suddenly, The Jester dropped his wand and kneeled down next to him.

"Take this message to your leaders." she said as she threw an envelope at him. "Don't worry, they won't have to translate this one."

Suddenly, he reached up and pulled the mask from his face. What lie underneath was the most surprising thing he could have imagined. He was, in fact, a she. With long flowing blonde hair and stunning blue eyes, Ron could hardly imagine that she was as evil and destructive as she actually was.

"Surprise." she whispered softly before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "Don't tell your wife. I wouldn't want that bitch to kill you before I can."

With that, she stood up and turned out of the room. Ron, fighting through the most pain that he had ever experience in his entire life, crawled to his wand which lay nearly ten feet away from him. Once he reached it, he kept crawling, dragging his legs behind him and pulling himself along with his left arm, the only part of his body that didn't have a broken bone. As he reached the fireplace, he reached inside his cloak and pulled out his emergency bag of Floo Powder.

Throwing it into the fire, he rolled in and barely was able to whisper.

"The Burrow."

As the fire whipped around him, Ron disappeared into nothingness and passed out in the process.


	4. IV

**January 23, 2004**

**8:55 AM**

Ron looked around as he woke up and for a few moments, he didn't realize exactly where he was. Then, in the couple moments that he tried to sit up, and failed due to the overwhelming pain that wracked his body, he knew where he was, The Spell Damage Ward of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Finally, he started to absorb more of the room and realized that there was a small group of people staring directly at him.

"Ron! Oh thank goodness, you're awake!"

Suddenly, he felt a flash of pain as his little sister jumped on his, obviously excited that he was awake.

"Gin. Gin." Ron whispered, fighting to stay conscious amidst the pain. "Ginny, get off. GET OFF!"

Finally, Ginny realized that she was probably hurting her brother and fell back into her chair. Ron looked around and noticed that a large portion of his family was present. Percy and Penelope stood at the end of the bed with George and Angelina next to them. Gabrielle sat next to Ginny on his right while his father stood behind them.

"Hey guys." Ron whispered, fighting through an ever present level of pain.

"Don't talk, Ron." Percy ordered him sternly. "You're lucky to be alive."

"How long was I out?" Ron asked.

"Two days. Percy's right. Just relax." Arthur replied.

"Fine." Ron replied softly. "How's Mom?"

"She doesn't know yet." Ginny replied softly. "We didn't want to worry her."

"Plus, she keeps asking for Fred." George replied softly.

Nearly one year to the day after Harry went missing, things started getting both good and rough for the Weasley family. Just as Arthur was being rushed from promotion to promotion (making up for all the promotions he had been skipped over for all those years), Molly got sick. No one knew how or why but one day, Molly simply forgot how to make her legendary bread pudding. Then, it was tea. Within two years, she had forgotten that Harry had disappeared and that Fred was dead. However, it had been last year when it hit them worst, the day she forgot her own name.

That day, Arthur called the Healers at St. Mungo's and said that she needed to be admitted. Since then, the Healers had taken her case and done everything they could to discover the cause and had found nothing. Most of the time, she remember bits and pieces of what she had once remembered. However, the worst days weren't the days where she forgot everything. During that point, she wasn't even really their mother anymore.

No, her worst days were the days where she remembered _everything. _These were the days that she was distinctly aware of the fact that not only was she lucid, but that there were plenty of days that she wasn't. The Healers had told the Weasleys that pretty soon, those days would be gone entirely. As it is, they only happened every few weeks.

However, Molly wasn't the only Weasley who had had a rough go after The Battle of Hogwarts. George went through several severe bouts of depression after Fred's death and as a result, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes nearly went under. As it was, George was still in mounds of debt from the two years that he nearly destroyed himself.

Bill got into a fight with a goblin one day at Gringott's. While Bill usually got along with his diminutive colleagues, Bill lost it when Dershank tried to hold onto the gold collected and stole by Lord Voldemort over the years. The Ministry had asked that the money be released and go to the charity for families who had lost someone in the war. Dershank, the goblin in charge of Voldemort's vault, declined.

It was the refusal to release these funds that led to the lawsuit.

When Bill got into the argument with Dershank, he was let go. Bill, not wanting to work in the area anymore, moved back to Egypt where he and Fleur worked as a researchers for the Egyptian Ministry. Gabrielle, who had been living with the two after the Battle of Hogwarts, moved in with Ginny and began work at the Ministry once she finished at Beauxbatons.

Ginny, after her suicide attempt, had taken a year off of Quidditch and had nearly not been able to go back. Harpies captain Gwenog Jones banned the team from talking to Ginny, thinking that her suicide attempt was a sign of weakness that her team couldn't afford. Thankfully, the rest of the team didn't share her opinion and forced Jones to bring her back. Unfortunately, that didn't stop Jones. Ginny spend an entire season on the bench, despite having been a league All-Star in her last season before her hiatus.

Charlie was still working in Romania. However, a bad day at the office had caused a Chinese Fireball to bite his right leg off. Now, he used a magical prosthetic but it was still difficult for him to move.

The only two that appeared to have been spared of the Weasley luck was Percy and Arthur. However, both of them had to watch as their family fell apart. That may have been torture enough.

"Don't worry her then." Ron replied. "Anyone else come visit?"

"Kingsley was here when you came in." Arthur replied. "Tried to interrogate you while you were unconscious."

"Anyone else?" Ron asked again, chuckling as he thought of Kingsley yelling at his unconscious form.

"She came for a little bit." George answered, obviously understanding what he was asking. "She seemed terrified. Told us she couldn't deal with this and that she would be back later."

"Never came back?"

A shake of the head gave him his answer. Ron sat there for a few moments, lost in his thoughts when a voice spoke up.

"I did come back."

Ron looked to the other end of the room where he saw Hermione, standing in the doorway. She looked both terrible and amazing at the same time. Terrible, because she looked liked she had spent the last two days crying. Amazing, because, well, she always looked amazing.

"Hermione." Ron whispered softly.

"We will give you guys some time alone." Ginny said as she stood up.

"You don't have to." Hermione said.

"No, we really do." Ginny replied earnestly as she escorted her family out of the door.

Ron watched as they left. Once they were gone, Ron became immediately aware of the fact that he was alone with his wife again. His eyes shifted on to her. The look on her face was one that Ron couldn't remember seeing before. It looked like she wanted to kill him, but couldn't so she was secretly contemplating a whole list of things that she could do to him.

Suddenly, Hermione fell down onto the chair next to him, sobbing as her head fell onto Ron's chest. Ron, despite the pain he felt, couldn't help but immediately sit up and hold her head in his arms.

"Shhh, Hermione, it's okay. Everything is okay." Ron whispered as he ran his hands through her hair, trying to calm her down.

Then, just as quickly as she fell, she sat back up and slapped him in the face.

"NO! Everything is not okay! I thought you were going to die! Two days ago, I was working in my office, waiting for you to return when Arthur came running into my office, saying that you had just Floo'd back to the Burrow and that you were nearly dead. I came here and I was here when you got here. Despite all of the crazy things we've done over the years, I've never seen anyone who had been so injured."

"Even Harry?"

"Harry wasn't even close to this injured. That's why you still hurt. The Healers can't heal everything at the same time. So, they've been healing you bit by bit over the last few days."

"Wow." Ron replied, not truly realizing how badly he had been beaten. "No offense, Hermione, but I didn't figure that you would be this upset."

Hermione looked at Ron with a mixture of love and hatred, a look that Ron had gotten quite used to over the years.

"Ron, I still love you." Hermione admitted. "That's why I was so upset. For the last five months, I've wanted to try and make things work again, but I didn't know how. I keep egging you on and you keep egging me on..."

"I wasn't egging you on." Ron muttered softly.

"You were! We both were! I was just so angry at you for never being there, but then I realized that I was as much to blame as you were." Hermione bellowed.

"Hermione Weasley admitting she was wrong? I must really be sick. At least I'm in the right place." Ron said jokingly.

"This is not funny, Ronald! I thought you were dead! I thought that I wasn't going to see you again! I realized that all of the time that I spent being too angry or too afraid to fix things was just a waste."

"What are you saying, Hermione?"

Hermione took a second to look everywhere in the room other than Ron's face. She began examining the tiles on the floor and the fans on the ceiling.

"Come home." Ron said softly as he took her hand in his. "Please. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there. I promise I'll change that. I've been an Auror for nearly ten years. Maybe once all of this is over, I can go back and work with George."

"Why would you do that? You love being an Auror." Hermione asked in shock.

"I do. And I would definitely miss it. But, I love being the husband of Hermione Weasley more."

"Really?"

"Of course, Hermione. There's only one problem."

Hermione's face reflected the shock of being thought of as a problem. Instantly, Ron realized his mistake and corrected himself.

"Not with you, Hermione. No, with me retiring as an Auror."

"What is it?"

"The Jester and The Frenchman. Until they're captured, I can't quit." Ron said softly. "Also, since I can't quit until they're capture or killed, I can't quit until Harry comes home."

"What does Harry have to do with this?" Hermione asked him.

"Harry is the best duelist in the world. His perfection combination of attack and defense makes him nearly unbeatable. Even if just for that fact, we need him. The Jester fires spells at a rate that you can't even imagine. The only person I know that wouldn't be overwhelmed by the sheer number of spells is Harry."

"So, in order to get our life back in order, we need to find Harry?"

"Yes, but not even for us. We need to find Harry for Harry." Ron replied "I know that he still blames himself for everything that happened to us. We need to convince him otherwise. Unfortunately, with my injuries, I'm not going to be able to go to America to find him."

"I'm staying here with you. We'll send Cho to find him. If she can't convince him to come back, then I'll come."

"What makes you think that Cho will be successful?" Ron asked.

"Cho being who she was in Harry's life, for one. I imagine that she probably still has a special place in his heart without being as close as we are." Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"Special place in his heart? You mean you think Harry still cares for Cho in some way and that someone like her would be able to convince him more easily?" Ron replied quickly.

"Yes."

"Hermione, how do we really know what Harry is like now? He may hate all of us, he may be married with a bunch of kids, we have no idea what he's like. It's a 1 in 1 million chance that he returns even if he doesn't hate us. It's been 4 years, 'Mione."

"I know, Ron." Hermione shot back. "But as you said, if The Jester is as powerful as you say she is, we need Harry. My thought was that he obviously blames himself for what happened to all of us after the war."

"Probably because we told him that." Ron said. "Do you remember the investigation? The one that you worked on. _Against him."_

"I didn't work against him, Ronald." Hermione snapped. "I was doing my job. I told Harry over and over again that I didn't believe that it was his fault."

"But this is Harry we're talking about. The single most important to Harry is loyalty. Loyalty to your friends and family should be more important than simply doing your job. To him, you betrayed him."

"I know." Hermione replied softly. "I know, Ron. I know that I was the one person he always trusted. Especially after he broke up with Ginny, you and I were his only real friends. So many people gave up on him after he broke up with her."

"I did for a little bit." Ron admitted. "I couldn't imagine why he wanted to break up with her when she was the only thing he talked about the whole year we were searching for the Horcruxes."

"She worshipped him."

"And he hated it. I know that now." Ron replied quickly. "Anyway, that doesn't matter anymore. We just need to get Harry back."

"Agreed."

* * *

**January 24, 2004**

**11:14 AM**

**The Office of the Minister of Magic**

The next morning, Hermione came into work and knew exactly what she had to do. So, she called Kingsley and Arthur and told them she needed to have a meeting with them. Not surprisingly, neither of them declined and they set the time for 11 AM.

Hermione spent the rest of the day at St. Mungo's talking with Ron about a number of things including Harry, Cho Chang, and The Jester's attack on him. Unfortunately for Hermione, she had fallen asleep next to Ron at St. Mungo's the night before and hadn't gotten some of her work done. Therefore, she walked into her meeting with the Minister and Minister-elect nearly fifteen minutes late.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." she apologized repeatedly as she took her seat in Kingsley's office.

"It's fine, Hermione." Arthur replied with a smile as Hermione got her things in order. "What did you need?"

"I talked to Ron yesterday. He said that The Jester is, in fact, a woman. She also caused all of Ron's injuries."

"How?" Kingsley asked in shock.

"Ron said that she snuck up on him. He attacked once and she dodged it. Once she dodged, she fired off a succession of spells and curses that Ron couldn't defend. Once she hit him, she threw him about the room, blasting him with curses and slamming him into the walls, ceiling and furniture of the room."

"Oh my dear..." Arthur said softly.

"Ron said that he believes that Harry is officially the only person that could stand a chance against her." Hermione added.

"Well that's problematic." Arthur replied.

"Yes. It is" Kingsley replied before turning back to Hermione. "Do we have any idea who she is?"

"No. Ron said that she spoke with little to no accent of any kind. Normally, I would believe that would mean she was American. However, I don't think it's going to be quite that simple." Hermione replied.

"What makes you say that?" Kingsley asked.

"Well, she's obviously got a strong knowledge of us, something not typical for Americans. Also, she knew by calling Ron out, he would come personally."

"So what's your thought?"

"Well, she sent her message in Russian. Personally, I think she's Russian. I know that's too simple but it's at the very least the first place we can look."

"Smart. Can we send someone to Moscow?" Arthur asked.

"Better to simply send an owl to my Russian equivalent." Hermione replied. "The Russians are always fairly suspicious of the rest of the world and running in there and accusing some random Russian woman of attacking the Czechs and Ron won't make us any more friends."

"We can't always think of the politics, Hermione." Kingsley returned. "We need answers. Quickly. If they don't reply quickly, we need to send someone to them."

"Then we can worry about that when the time comes." Hermione shot back. "However, simply sending someone without consulting them first would be seen as an insult, one that they would not quickly forgive. All of the work we've done getting back on good terms with them would be lost."

"Fine." Kingsley said shortly after thinking things over for a few seconds. "You're right. Send them an owl. Tell them they have three days and then we send someone to discover the identity of The Jester."

"It will be done the moment I return to my office." Hermione replied.

Kingsley smiled before putting all the papers that he had back in the folder they came from and then setting it to the side. Hermione stood up to leave before Kingsley spoke again.

"A few more things, Hermione." she said with a chuckle as Hermione hastily fell in her seat again.

"As you know, Arthur takes over as Minister in two days."

"I do." Hermione said with a smile towards the elder Weasley.

"When he takes over, Percy will retain his job as Senior Undersecretary. However, Arthur would like to ask you something."

"Arthur?"

"Hermione, with the events of the past few weeks, we must always be prepared for the worst." Arthur started. "If something should happen to me, would you take the Minister's post?"

Hermione was shocked. Unlike other places around the world, the Minister of Magic in Britain was allowed to choose his or her's successor. This person didn't have to work for the Ministry or been a Ministry employee at any time. Now, Arthur had asked her to succeed him.

"No." Hermione replied shortly. "I couldn't imagine leaping over Percy to take that job. Personally, I think that he is better fit for the job at this point."

"Are you sure, Hermione?" Arthur asked. "Once I am in office, I must name my replacement. You still have some time to think."

"I'm sure." Hermione replied with a smile. "I would suggest Percy to take over for you. However, I really don't think we're going to have to worry about that. Arthur Weasley survives everything!"

"Yes, he does." Kingsley replied with a smile. "I have one other request for you."

"What?"

"Talk to Christoph."

"Why me?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"Well, Robards is rather upset with Christoph's treatment of Ron and he is refusing to allow Aurors to speak with him. They're also keeping him in isolation. I don't want to directly order Robards to stand down but I think we need to get another shot at him."

"Hermione, if you wait two days, I will order Robards to stand down." Arthur added. "In the end, it's your choice how these things go down."

"I can talk to him." Hermione said firmly.

"Great!" Kingsley replied as he stood up. "How does 9:00 tomorrow morning sound?"

"Wonderful." Hermione replied. "Why am I talking to him?"

"The Jester. We need to know if there is anyone else. If the Jester is pulling the strings then we can move forward. If there's someone else we don't know about, then we need to be able to work towards finding this person."

"Sounds reasonable. What are the odds of getting him to talk to me?"

"Small."

"Great." Hermione said as she turned to walk out the door.

"Tell Ron to get better."

"I will." Hermione and Arthur replied in unison.

* * *

**January 25, 2004**

**9:00 AM**

After an evening of watching nurses tend to her grouchy husband, who was still working his way through healing from all of his injuries, and then sleeping at her flat for what was hopefully the last time, she showed up for work, ready to interrogate The Frenchman.

In order to become a high-ranking official in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, you had to be trained in certain interrogation techniques. Hermione had taken the training three years ago, just a few months after Harry left. Since then, she had only had to use these skills twice, both of them on Aurors who had committed egregious errors during missions.

This was the first time that she had been asked to interrogate someone who wasn't a member of the British Ministry.

Hermione walked into the ready room and set her things down. Kingsley and Arthur were already there as was Gawain Robards, Head of the Aurors. He looked particularly unhappy and was involved in a very rough conversation with Kingsley.

"Minister Shacklebolt, you are deliberately working around me. This man was brought to the Ministry by one of my finest Aurors and interrogated by him as well! If you think that just because his wife is some high ranking hot shot, that she's going to do better, then you need to get your mind checked at St. Mungo's!"

"The Minister was just with me at St. Mungo's a few days ago." Hermione interjected smoothly, stopping Robards from continuing his rant. "They assured me that his mind is quite alright."

Robards looked at Hermione with a mix of shock, outrage and contempt.

"Granger." Robards said with a sneer.

"The name is Hermione Weasley, Gawain. It has been for several years and I would kindly ask you to remember that." Hermione replied coldly.

"Who do you think you are?" Robards fired back.

"As Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I believe that I am your direct superior."

"How dare you throw rank around here like a child? I'm the expert here!"

"Actually, Gawain, I still believe that lies with me." Kingsley replied sharply. "You will watch your tongue or you will be removed from your office and this room immediately. You are here to observe and to ensure that Mrs. Weasley does exactly as she has been trained to do."

Finally, Gawain seemed to cool off and took a seat on the far wall of the room. Kingsley seemed pleased by this and turned back to Hermione.

"Christoph is enroute. Check your wand here and step in."

Hermione withdrew her wand from her cloak and placed it on one of the desk inside the ready room. She nodded to the guard who opened the door to let her in. Once she was in, the door on the other side of the room opened and Bruno Christoph was led in the room. They sat him down calmly and walked out of the room. Once both doors were shut, the room went live. Hermione hated the buzz that she could feel from the interrogation rooms. She remembered how much Harry had loved that feeling.

With that thought, she began.

"Bruno, we need your help." she said softly. While many other people starting off attacking, Hermione felt more comfortable starting the other way. She often lulled her targets to sleep and then pounced. She hadn't failed with it yet.

"Why me?" he said innocently. The perfectly manicured man that Hermione had seen the day after he had been brought it was gone. Now, he sat with wild hair and smelled slightly. It was amazing what 5 days of solitary confinement could do.

"The Jester attacked the Czech Ministry a few days ago. We need your help in finding her."

"Why would I help you find her?" he fired back.

"I know that a few days ago, my husband was in here. Now, my husband is a little slow and a lot arrogant. He probably came in here and told you that I would be able to destroy you in the trial and that you would get the first death penalty since it was established three years ago."

"You would be correct, Weasley."

"That's what I thought. Ron tends to get a little too confident and doesn't think very much. Now, that's not to say that I can't do that."

"What do you mean?" The Frenchman asked.

Hermione walked to the far side of the room and grabbed a chair, setting it down directly behind her adversary and answered him.

"With little to no effort at all, I could walk into that courtroom, convince everyone that you had done everything you're accused of doing and watch the Aurors kill you and still make it home for dinner. However, that would mean that I hadn't done my job."

"Well, Mrs. Weasley, what is your job?"

"In this situation? My job to catch the bigger fish. That's not to say that you aren't good. You are obviously very good at what you do. She is just a little better."

"She's been trained longer. She's not better."

"Trained by who?"

"Everyone." The Frenchman answered hastily. "She's just older than I am."

"That doesn't make her better?" Hermione asked, starting to lay the bait.

"No." he replied shortly.

With his answer, Hermione stood up and wheeled around to the front of him, taking her chair with her. She threw the chair down in front of Christoph and sat down roughly.

"Do you know the names of the Aurors that brought you in?"

"Ron Weasley and John Dawlish. Robards' guard dogs." The Frenchman replied with a grim smile.

"Well, you'll be glad to know that Dawlish is dead and Weasley is gravely injured in St. Mungo's." Hermione said softly as she leaned back in her chair.

"I am glad. They deserved it."

"The Jester did it to them."

The look on Christoph's face was one of the best Hermione had ever seen. Usually when she had one piece of information that she knew that her target wouldn't know, she would use it as the kicker, the last fact just before she left the room. This time, she chose to wait with him in the room and watch as he was tortured by the fact that was inferior to his ally.

"How?"

"One of the most elaborate traps I've ever seen. Killed everyone in the Czech Ministry without letting them call for help. Then, she sent a letter telling Ron to return you to her. Instead, Ron and his team went to the Czech Ministry. They waited until they split up and attacked them individually. Ron was the only one who survived."

"They walked into a trap." The Frenchman said dismissively.

"The best trap I've ever seen."

"A trap, nonetheless."

Hermione stood up and made her way to the door. Just as she reached the door, she turned around.

"Who is she?"

"I'm only talking to Potter."

Suddenly, inspiration took hold.

"She doesn't love you." Hermione said bluntly.

She wasn't sure what had prevented her from seeing it before. It was the same thing that Ron occasionally dealt with being related or married or friends with so many prodigiously talented witches and wizards.

"What did you say to me?"

"She doesn't love you." Hermione reiterated. "Not like you love her. She wants you to help her rule. Once she has that power, she won't need you anymore."

"She loves me. I know it."

"I know she doesn't. She hasn't asked for you again after she nearly killed Ron. Must not be in too big a hurry to have you back home."

"She loves me!" The Frenchman screamed. "She loves me and she will prove it!"

"She will not!" Hermione yelled back in reply. She knew that she was closing to losing control of the situation but maybe that was exactly what they needed. "She doesn't love me!"

"Azoli loves me and she will prove it to you! She's going to come and break me out of here and kill all of you!"

Control was overrated, wasn't it?

"Who's Azoli?"

"No one."

"Who is she?" Hermione pressed again.

"She isn't anyone." he repeated with chagrin.

"That must be why she's letting you rot in jail." Hermione joked.

Suddenly, Christoph jumped out his seat and screamed with a fury.

"Azoli Vinogradoff is my lover and she will come for me! It doesn't matter that you know who she is! She will kill you all! ALL OF YOU!"

Hermione watched as madness took over the imprisoned Frenchman. Guards came pouring into the room, trying to calm him down. Eventually, a stunner caught him in the middle of the chest and he collapsed. Several guards picked him up and tore out of the room, trying to get him back to his cell before he woke up.

Hermione turned and opened the door to go back to the ready room. She opened it swiftly and grabbed her wand off the desk.

"Robards, Azoli Vinogradoff is now the assignment of every Auror not on a specific case. When Ron is healed, he takes command of the mission."

"Every Auror? Do you realize what kind of manpower you would be wasted by doing that?" Robards yelled at her.

"Do it, Gawain." Kingsley said softly next to the Auror Head. "This is a top priority. Take care of it."

Kingsley turned to Hermione.

"Good job, Hermione." he said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"My father-in-law takes the top job tomorrow. Of course I'll be there."

* * *

**January 26, 2004**

**12:00 Noon**

**The Atrium**

****Wizards from all over the nation poured into the Ministry for the first publicly elected Minister to be installed. Ron, as part of his father's selected group, sat on the stage with the rest of his family as Kingsley approached the podium.

"On May 2, 1998, I was named Interim Minister by an emergency session of the newly reinstated Wizengamot." Kingsley said as he began his final speech as Minister. "For six months, I remained in the top job on an interim basis. Finally, I was named the official Minister on December 8, 1998."

Polite applause scattered the room as they listened to Kingsley speak.

"Over the past three years, I have pushed strongly for the creation of publicly elected positions within the Ministry. This resulted in the first public election ever held in Great Britain, solely for my position, last year on my position. Numerous Ministry members were selected as candidates. However, it was Amos Diggory and Arthur Weasley that stood out above the rest. Both have near perfect records with the Ministry and had incredibly long service records."

Another small smattering of applause rang out as Arthur and Amos, who was seated in the front row, were recognized.

"While many expected public elections to turn into a year round mudslinging festival, it did not end up being the case. Both candidates refused to sink to the suggested low standards and kept the entire process in an incredibly positive light. In the end, Arthur won 79% of the vote and has been elected to become the first nationally elected Minister of Magic in our history."

Ron watched as his father smiled brightly at the mention of his victory. Years before, Ron could have never imagined his father taking this job. Now, he couldn't believe that he had never thought of it before.

"Before I pass the wand to Arthur, a few words on him. Arthur started as a file clerk in the Office for Wizengamot Administrative Services in 1969, just months before his eldest son, Bill, was born. From there, he worked his way up until he was named the Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office in 1988. He remained at this position until 1996 when he was named by Rufus Scrimgeour as the Head of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects. In this role, Arthur stood out, helping the Auror Office stop hundreds from feeling the effects of faked defensive spells during Lord Voldemort's reign of terror."

At this point, Kingsley was whipping the crowd into a political fervor. They were either very excited or incredibly bored.

"Again, in 2001, Arthur was promoted. This time, he took the role as Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Over the past two years in this role, Britain has regained its place at the top of the wizarding world. But, you've probably heard enough from me." he said, as he waved Arthur up to the podium next to him.

Kingsley reached down beside him and picked up a large wand. Slowly, he turned back to the crowd and lifted the wand in the air.

"I, Kingsley Wendell Shacklebolt, hereby step down as Minister of Magic. In accordance with the law, Arthur Frederick Weasley is proclaimed Minister of Magic for a term of no more than five years." Kingsley said as he turned and handed the wand to Arthur.

"Thank you." Arthur said softly so only those on the stage could hear him.

"Go get 'em, Arthur." Kingsley said with a wink as he took his seat behind Arthur. Arthur turned and, after taking a moment, addressed the crowd as Minister of Magic for the first time. Ron couldn't have been prouder of his father, even fighting through the painkillers that were fading the longer this ceremony went on. Regardless, Ron couldn't have missed this day for anything.

"Thank you all for coming." Arthur said to cheers from the crowd. "I know you are all busy so I will keep this moving. I would like to thank those of you that have supported me for all of these years. I would like to thank my family and especially my wife. If you don't know, my wife is permanently admitted into St. Mungo's due to a brain illness. Last year, when her health started to fade, I question whether continuing to run for Minister was the right thing to do. Then, the next day which was one of her only cognizant ones, she simply told me: _Just like our family needs you, they need you. _It was then and there that I decided to continue with my campaign to become your Minister. Still, never would I have believed myself standing here. Again, I thank you for your support of my campaign and I know that the next five years will be wonderful ones of the wizards of Great Britain!"

A great roar echoed out of the Atrium as the crowd exploded at the end of Arthur's speech. Ron even managed to clap a bit, although even that hurt him some. Suddenly, everyone noticed that Arthur had his hand up, signalling that he wasn't quite done.

"Thanks. Thank you. Thank you all. Now, I have one more thing. I would like to thank Harry."

Instantly, the air was sucked out of the room. No one talked about Harry Potter in public anymore.

"Without you, Harry, none of us would be here." he said as he raised his wand. "I don't know how you are feeling or where you are. But, wherever you are, this is for you, son."

In unison, everyone in the Atrium lifted their wands, greatly increasing the amount of light shown in the room.

"Thank you all. Have a wonderful day!"


	5. V

**February 4, 2004**

**1:11 PM**

**Anchorage, Alaska**

_Finally, someone who knew something about Harry, _Cho thought to herself. She had been searching for any information on the Man who Live for nearly two weeks and she had found nothing. However, this man seemed to know something. Or at least, he said he did.

"When did you see him last?" Cho asked.

The man in front of her was an American Auror by the name of Joe Oxley. Oxley was an enormous man with long blonde hair that he slicked back with copious amounts of hair gel. Oxley apparently had been one of the best Aurors in the States until an accident a few years back. Now, he was missing half of his right foot and was forced to walk with a cane. He took the job in Alaska for three years so that he could be eligible for full retirement.

"I saw Potter two months ago. I called him in to talk about an outpouring of werewolf attacks in Siberia. The Minister seems to think that they are going to cross the Strait and come through Alaska to get to Canada. Apparently, the Canucks caused a serious beef with the Russian 'Wolves."

"What would Harry have to do with that?" Cho asked again.

"Even with his relatively brief experience in England, everyone knows that Harry Potter is one of the best defense strategists around. We needed his help designing a plan to stop the 'wolves from coming through."

"He agreed."

"Reluctantly, yes."

"Where did he come from?"

Oxley looked at her like she had asked him a question in a foreign language.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, he has to live somewhere. Where?"

"I have no idea."

"How do you get in touch with him?" Cho asked, pressing harder.

"Owl, of course. How else?" Oxley replied with a chuckle.

"But you don't know where the owl goes?"

"No." Oxley responded nervously.

"When he comes to town, where do you meet him?"

Oxley pulled a pipe out his desk. Slowly, he lit it and then stuck it into his mouth. The tobacco smelled sweet, like it had been treated with sugar or cinnamon. Oxley took a deep breath before he responded.

"I buy him a beer at The Witches' Brew."

"The Witches' Brew? Seriously?" Cho asked in surprise.

"It's a good little bar downtown, when you can get there in the cold. Hell, even Apparating in there seems difficult in this cold. Anyway, he comes in, I rent out a room and buy him a beer. We talk, he listens, gives his advice and then leaves."

"How does he get home?"

"Excuse me?"

"How. Does. He. Get. HOME?" Cho growled at the man.

"All I see him do is walk down the street. Other than that, I don't know how."

Cho stood from her seat across from Oxley and made her way to the door. She opened the door and then turned back to the man.

"Set up a meeting with Harry for tomorrow afternoon. I'll follow him out of here."

"I'll do my best."

Their conversation over, Cho walked out of the small office and into the frigid Alaskan winter air. As she walked her way back across the street to the motel she was staying in, she thought about how she got here.

* * *

**January 19, 2004**

**3:13 AM**

**New York, NY**

Cho had just laid down to go to bed when an owl landed in her window. She walked to the window in her bedroom and retrieved the letter. Letter in hand, she walked down the hall to her office. Her one steadfast rule was that she never worked in her bedroom. Once she was seated at her desk, she opened the letter. She noticed two distinctly different handwriting lined the paper. One was the letter that had been written. The other was a note written from the American Minister to her on the top of the letter.

_Cho,_

_I just received the following message from Hermione Granger. I'm sorry to wake you but I thought you would rather have this now then wait until morning. I hope you find him quickly._

_Sorry,_

_Minister Mitchell_

Cho took the Minister's note in stride as she proceeded to read Hermione's letter.

_Cho,_

_I have no idea what time this letter will reach you. However, once you get it, please move with the quickest haste possible. We have captured The Frenchman. However, he refuses to speak with our agents or anyone else. He has strongly insinuated that he is not in charge of the missions that he has been apart of and that someone else is running their killing spree._

_He has said that he would speak to one man. Unfortunately, that one man is Harry Potter. As you are aware, Harry has been missing for nearly four years. However, our last sighting of him was in the United States and we believe that he is still there._

_Therefore, your orders have changed. Under Minister Shacklebolt's orders, we are naming your assistant to act in your place while you find Harry. Do whatever you can within the law to bring him home._

_Act quickly,_

_Hermione Granger, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement_

Cho was glad she was sitting down when she read the letter. She's not sure that she would have remained standing for much longer anyway. Cho had just been placed in charge of the discovery of the location of Harry Potter.

Personally, Cho didn't think that it is possible. Harry was one of the most talented wizards in the world when it came to defense and stealth. If Harry didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be found. However, the only saving grace that Cho could see was that they weren't in England. There, Cho could see that Harry would know that everyone would recognize him and he would be nearly silent and invisible. In the United States, Harry may have been famous, but not overly so.

Plus, any mentions of him in the American tabloids would be placed directly next to rumors that Albus Dumbledore, Lord Voldemort and Merlin had all come back from the dead. Not exactly the most reputable sources.

Cho walked back down the long hallway to her bedroom where she hopped into bed. She set her alarm for 7:00 AM, a hour later than she would normally get up. Since she wasn't going into the Ministry, she didn't seem to think that it would be a problem.

* * *

**January 19, 2004**

**10:11 AM**

After waking up, Cho took a quick shower and then walked down the street to the nearest Starbucks for a coffee. Cho lived in downtown Manhattan. While she didn't necessarily like the constant Muggle environment, no one seemed to notice the occasion magical thing. It made for a good place to hide when she wasn't living in her appointed housing as Ambassador to the American Ministry.

After making the quick trip to get her coffee, Cho came back to her desk and began writing. Having been in the US for quite some time, Cho had become intricately acquainted with the American system. 50 States, each with a representative and an Auror Office. So, she sat down at her desk and wrote a letter to every representative and Auror Captain in each state. She would have to wait a while for most of the letters to return. However, simply getting up and starting to search was completely out of the question. The United States was incredibly large, much larger than England. It would take years of searching if she didn't have some information to begin with.

Otherwise, she really was looking for a pin in a straw. Or whatever the Muggle saying was.

Cho went to the closest closet and pulled out an old trunk that she had brought with her from London. She dragged it out into the living room and opened it. Inside were a number of keepsakes from her years in school and just after. The first thing she pulled out was an old Prophet. The headline on the front page read**_ The Chosen One defeats He Who Must Not Be Named!_**

On the front of the paper were two pictures of the Golden Trio: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. The first was a picture of them from what looked to be their first year at Hogwarts. They were young with bright eyes. None of them knew the horrors that they were certain to face over the next few years. The picture next to it was a picture of them just hours after Lord Voldemort's body had been burned in the Black Lake. They stood in the same order and while Harry and Ron now towered over Hermione, they looked closer than every.

However, Cho noticed something now that she hadn't seen the day she had purchased this paper. While the eyes of Ron and Hermione had remained similar, albeit weighed down by the gravity of the events of that day, Harry's had changed. The difference was astonishing. While the eleven-year old Harry had a cheerful smile that was reflected in his eyes, seventeen-year old Harry had the same smile, but it stopped just short of his eyes. He looked happy but Cho could tell that there was something there that was affecting him.

Of course there was something affecting him. Harry's tendency to blame everything on himself would have been on overdrive that day. Hundreds died in the defense of Hogwarts on that day and Harry was almost assuredly going to blame himself for every single one of them.

Who knew that a year later, everyone else would blame him too.

* * *

**10:00 PM**

By ten, Cho had received a host of letters. However, only four held good information. Sighting of Harry had been reported in California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. While none of them reported dates, Cho had an idea that Harry had to be moving north and away from the rest of the world.

Instantly, Cho sat down and began to write Ron Weasley, the Auror in charge of the investigation in London.

_Ron,_

_After working hard all day trying to find something that would help, I may have found it. The United States is a strange nation. Each of their 50 states has a representative that I can contact at any time. Well, when Hermione sent me her orders to look for Harry, I instantly got to work contacting them to see what they've heard. I got a lot of no's but I did manage to get four replies that may help. The representatives from California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska have all had a large number of rumored Harry Potter sightings. While Harry isn't nearly as famous here as he is at home, he's still a recognizable face. The number of sightings can't be a coincidence. If you need anything else from me, just let me know._

_Cho_

When she saw that the letter was satisfactorily explanatory without being overly detailed, she threw it in the Floo Fire that they had established earlier in the day. Hopefully, this mean that Ron would get it quickly. She knew that it would be very late in London but with the whole nation on full alert, Cho wouldn't have been surprised to learn that he was still in his office working.

Sure enough, she got a letter back within moments.

_Cho,_

_I need a list of when and where Harry was sighted. Also, if he stayed the night anywhere, I need to know. I'm going to go check with Minister Shacklebolt and Minister-in-waiting Weasley and see what they think we should do moving forward. As it is, I'm giving you orders to make your way to Los Angeles._

_In the future, these sightings would have been nice to know when they happened._

_Thanks, Ron_

"Well hopefully you won't need to know about these sightings." she said softly to herself. "Hopefully, I find him."

Once she finished reading the letter, she stood up and walked to her bedroom. She need to pack for MUCH warmer weather.

* * *

**February 1, 2004**

**12:13 PM**

**Anchorage, AK**

Cho sincerely hoped that state number four wasn't like the other three.

California had been her first stop. She had followed Ron's orders and gone to Los Angeles. There, she had met with one of the representatives of the state, a woman in her late seventies by the name of Gertrude Lighty. She was a strong, strict looking woman who chillingly reminded Cho of Minerva McGonagall, her old Transfiguration Professor.

While Lighty had many reports on sightings of Harry, she had nothing in particular. No individual sightings with no specific dates or locations. The only thing that she knew was that there had been three or four people in the city of Fresno that had seen Harry. After spending nearly two hours meeting with the woman (who gave a distinct vibe that she thought she had better things to be doing), Cho left the meeting feeling very discouraged about the prospects of finding Harry.

Deciding that she would return to Fresno if the other states didn't show up anything, Cho moved north to Portland. There, she meet with a regional Auror Office director, Robert Ryan. Ryan, while far more organized than Lighty had been, was of no more assistance. They knew that the British Ministry had been on the lookout for Harry Potter and therefore they kept a catalog of sightings of the ubiquitous wizard. However, none of the sightings were ever followed up on and ultimately nothing had been done about them.

Feeling more disheartened than ever, Cho Apparated to Spokane, WA. Once she was there, Cho spent two days being shuttled around the Washington branch of the Ministry. Apparently, numerous people had been in charge of keeping track of Harry Potter sightings. However, none of them had any good information. Therefore, Cho spent the night in Spokane drinking the night away.

This morning and twenty minutes ago, Cho, hangover and all, took the Floo to Anchorage. She landed in the Alaskan Ministry Office and instantly someone was there to greet her.

"Good morning, Miss Chang. We are pleased to have you here." a young woman said with a bright smile. She was the same height as Cho with bright blue eyes and a rather fair complection. Although Cho imagined that with as cold as it was outside, everyone would probably have a fair complexion.

"Good morning. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Cho said as she greeted the bright woman with a handshake.

"Jillian Handler." she said warmly. "I am the aide to Mr. Combs."

Mr. Combs or DeShaun Combs as his mother named him was a notorious representative in the American system. He was born and raised in River City, Iowa, child of a mother born and raised in Detroit and a father from Watts. Needless to say, Mr. Combs stuck out like a sore thumb. He was loud, boisterous, talked in more slang than a teenage girl and was one of the most remarkable lawmakers in the United States.

Combs had moved to Alaska when he was 18 to join a team of Aurors on a werwolve hunt in 1980. He had never moved home. Four years later, he was elected to represent his state in the Wizard's Court, a magical version of the United States Senate.

"Good." Cho said with a smile. "May I see Mr. Combs?"

"Right this way." she replied before turning and hurriedly leading Cho away.

Cho followed Jillian through a maze of desks and office until she finally turned down a long hallway with a single door at the end. Reaching the end, she pulled the door open and motioned for Cho to go in.

Seated at his desk was DeShaun Combs. He was an incredibly tall man with the darkest skin she had ever seen. He had a slight belly that didn't seem to go with the rest of his frame, which seemed that it had once housed an incredibly athletic man.

"Sit, Miss Chang." he said in a surprisingly soft voice.

"Thank you." Cho said as she sat while Jillian closed the door behind them.

"Now, I understand that you are here to locate Mr. Harry Potter, is that right?" he asked her, again with great gentility.

"Yes." Cho replied shortly, unable to hide her confusion.

DeShaun must have seen it because he instantly chuckled.

"Miss Chang, my mother and father would be so upset if they heard me on the wireless talking like this. I keep up with appearances so that they feel like I never forgot them. In truth, I didn't. I simply don't talk like them anymore."

_Talk about not judging a book by its cover. _Cho thought to herself. _Although I am half Scottish-half Chinese, I imagine no one expects what comes out of my mouth either._

"It's so surprising." Cho admitted.

"I can understand that." DeShaun answered. "Now, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes. Minister Weasley needs Harry to talk to a captured terrorist. He will only talk to Harry and we have reason to believe that he wasn't acting alone."

"Well, Miss Chang, you're in luck."

"Really? How?"

"We have an Auror here in Anchorage who has spoken to Harry on a few occasions."

The look on Cho's face had to be one of complete and udder shock. No one in two years had been known to speak of Harry Potter or to Harry Potter. Especially not someone in the magical world. Now, she had someone saying that not only has he spoken to Harry, he can remember speaking to Harry!

"Who? When? Where? Why?"

"How?" DeShaun interjected with a smile. "Joe Oxley is the man's name. He's the top Auror in the area. It's probably due to the fact that we only have three Aurors in all of Alaska but he is the top Auror."

"How did he get to Harry?"

"During the winter, the sun goes down for a month and never comes up. It's the worst month out of the year. Here, things aren't so bad. Up north though where it can be completely dark for up to 21 hours a day? Vampires love it up there. The tribes that live closer to civilization don't have too many problems when it comes to alternative food sources. Up there, they kill the first thing they came across. One day about a year ago, a pack of starving vampires attacked a small village in the tundra. We got word but we knew that we would never make it in time."

"Why not?"

"Trying to find all of these tiny tribal towns is nearly impossible, even with the ability to Apparate. Anyway, we figured we would find a bloodbath. Instead, only two people were bitten and neither of the bites were deep enough to contract the virus. We found out from eyewitnesses that Harry Potter had saved them and was staying in the inn. Oxley went to him to thank him and asked him whether he would be staying in the area. When Harry said yes, Ox asked him if he could ask for his help occasionally. Harry reluctantly agreed and then walked out of the bar."

She couldn't believe it. She was really going to find him.

"Well, where is he?"

"Who? Harry? We have no idea."

"Not Harry." Cho replied. "Mr. Oxley."

"Oh, he's out on a mission. He won't be back for two days."

Of course, the light at the end of the tunnel just got a little farther away.

* * *

**February 5, 2004**

**3:33 PM**

**The Witches' Brew**

Finally, after two days of waiting, a meeting with Joe Oxley and a whole day of nervously waiting again, the point where she finally would get to trail Harry was here. Cho was situated in the room next to Oxley's and she had bought a whole supply of George Weasley's Extendable Ears from his Instant Delivery Catalog. She would have to remember to thank him when she got back. Now, the whole bar could be heard from Cho's room.

Finally, she heard the door in the room next to her open slowly. Next, she heard Oxley get up and greet him.

"That you for coming on such short notice, Mr. Potter." Oxley said warmly.

"It's fine." she heard Harry reply. It was amazing how different and yet how similar his voice sounded. It didn't have the life it had had at one point, but it was definitely the same Harry that she remembered.

"Anyway, I figured we'll get to work." Oxley said as she heard two people sit down. "Minister Mitchell wants to increase our defense at the sea ports. He is sincerely worried about the 'wolves."

Cho heard Harry sigh before standing up.

"Mr. Oxley, this is a waste of my goddamn time. Not only is the population of werewolves in Russia a miniscule number, nothing that you do at the ports would help. They're werewolves, they are only obviously dangerous for six hours every month! How do you plan on stopping that?"

Suddenly, the door opened and slammed in an instant. Cho quickly stood up and ran to the door. Sure enough, she saw the familiar outline of the Boy Who Lived rushing down the stairs. Not bothering to wait for Oxley, she rushed down the stairs and into the street. She knew that she wasn't an Auror and she wasn't trained for anything like this and she probably wasn't even authorized to make contact with him, but she needed to follow.

Once Harry was out on the street, he moved quickly. He wasn't difficult to follow. In the near white-out conditions of winter in Anchorage, the man in the black cloak was obvious. However, the woman following him in the white winter coat was nearly invisible.

For nearly thirty minutes, Cho trailed behind Harry as he weaved in and out of small alleys and back roads. Cho wondered whether Harry knew that she was following him or whether this was a path that he typically followed.

Suddenly, just as Cho began to wonder whether or not Harry was walking all the way home, he ducked into a small restaurant. Cho waited for a couple minutes before following his lead and entering the building. Cho quickly walked up the hostess.

"Excuse me, my husband just came in here? He was probably wearing glasses with jet black hair and a long black overcoat."

"He went upstairs to private room number 4." the hostess said pointing the stairs behind her.

"Thanks." Cho said before bolting up the stairs. Once she was at the top, she pulled out her wand and made her way to the forth door. She heard Harry inside yell something _"Barrow!" _before a loud rush came out, obviously the result of Floo Powder.

Cho rushed inside and saw exactly what she expected: a long room with a fireplace at the end. This building was used solely for Floo Powder movement. A facility like this would make Harry very difficult to track.

Cho was examining the fireplace for more Floo Powder when she heard a voice.

"Hello, Cho."


	6. VI

**A/N: This has by far been my most popular story. Lots of reads already and more reviews and favorites than usual. However, I would really like to hear from those of you that do read. As you saw at the end of the last chapter, we finally get to see Harry. Things are going to pick up from here and so I would really appreciate you guys leaving a little review. If you have any questions or suggestions, ASK AWAY!**

* * *

"Hello, Cho."

The words crawled down Cho's back like ice. For a few moments, she couldn't move. She was glued to the floor. Finally, when she got her wits about her, she slowed turned around to face him.

He looked so much like Harry and yet so different. It definitely was him, there was no doubt about that. However, she had changed so much. He was much thicker, like he had been working out. Even through the thick black cloak, Cho could tell that he was in fantastic shape. He had traded his traditional round glasses for a pair of newer, more angular glasses. The hair just above his temples was already starting to grey. Cho wondered if that was natural or because of stress.

She looked down and noticed that he didn't have his wand in his hand. Instantly, she felt herself release all of the air in her lungs.

"Harry." she breathed softly.

"What are you doing here?" he asked naturally.

In the past, Harry had always been bad at hiding his emotions. That was the past however. He either didn't have any emotions or he was doing a very good job hiding them.

"Harry, I think we both know what I'm doing here." Cho replied softly.

Suddenly, Harry stuck his hand into his robes and in a flash, drew his wand and conjured a table and two chairs.

"Sit." Harry ordered shortly.

Cho did as she was required and took a seat across from him at the table.

"To be perfectly honest, I didn't think it would take them this long to find." Harry said with a sigh. "Why are you here?"

"We need your help, Harry."

Harry gave a deep, throaty laugh before he replied.

"My help? Well all know what happens when everyone gets my help."

"Harry, you know that trial w-"

"That trial was all of wizarding England during their back on the one man who was brave enough stand in the way of Lord Voldemort! That trial was Kingsley, Ron, Hermione, and all of the people that I thought were my friends telling me that the war and all of its _results _were my fault!"

Now, this, this was the Harry that Cho remembered. A burning rage just below the surface, ready to explode at any moment.

"Not all of us supported it you know."

"Cho, when it came down to Marietta and me, you chose her, remember?"

Suddenly, it was Cho's turn to be angry.

"Harry, that was years ago! I was a child then and you would hold that against me?"

"We were all children! But we had to take care of things and you were too blind to see that! You stood there and defended the person who would have given us to the Ministry!"

Cho had to admit, albeit reluctantly, that he had a point.

"Harry, you're right." Cho admitted. "You're absolutely right. But we can't change that now, can we? We can only move forward."

"I have no interest in moving forward." Harry shot back. "Moving forward means going back. That's what you mean by my help don't you?"

"I do."

"Forget it, Chang. I'm not going back."

Cho stood up and began pacing the room. Suddenly, she came up with an idea.

"Can I at least see where you live?"

Harry looked shocked that she would even ask.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Two things. First, I would like to explain to you why you need to come home. Second, if I can't convince you, I want to be able to explain to Ron, Hermione and Arthur how you're doing and not lie to them."

_Not lie to them. _It was the kicker in there or at least she hoped it was. She hoped that Harry, who disliked lying as much as anyone she could remember, wouldn't let her become a liar as well.

Suddenly, Harry stood up and withdrew a pouch from his cloak, obviously full of Floo Powder. With another flash of his wand, the table and chairs were gone and he was approaching the mantle.

"Since it is already mid-day, I will take you to my home and allow you to stay for one night. I will listen to you and assuredly tell you to go home. Once you leave, you will not tell them where I live and you will not come back. Are we clear?"

"Yes." Cho nodded slowly.

"Fine. Take my hand." Harry said as he extended his hand to hers.

Cho quickly latched onto Harry's hand as he led to the two of them into the fire. They stood in the green flames for a second before Harry spoke.

"I hope you like it dark and cold." he said before pulling some Floo Powder out of his bag. Quickly, he threw it down and yelled:

"Barrow!"

* * *

**Barrow, AK**

**4:00 PM**

Cho opened her eyes and saw that they were in a small restaurant, eerily similar to the one that they had just left.

"Welcome to Barrow." Harry said next to her.

"Barrow?" Cho replied. "Where the hell is that?"

"Barrow is the northernmost inhabited location in Alaska. It's a small town, maybe 5,000 people. However, with it being early February, no one really gets out of their houses much. So, I kind of have free reign to Apparate wherever I please."

"Don't you worry about the Statue of Secrecy?"

"No." Harry replied shortly before leading her towards the door. As Cho walked across the room, she noticed that there was literally no one there.

"Why isn't there anyone here?"

"You'll see." Harry replied as he opened the door.

Instantly, a blast of air so cold that it nearly knocked Cho off her feet came rushing in. Harry, who hadn't even noticed, walked outside and left Cho holding the door to follow.

The town really was quite quaint. Small houses lined the streets and not a single vehicle drove the roads. It was like a ghost town. That's when Cho noticed something.

"Harry, why is it nearly sunset?"

"Because there's only sun six hours a day here at this time of the year." Harry replied as he pressed forward.

"Is that why no one comes out?"

"Yes. We have a large population of incredibly powerful nocturnal animals up here. Bears, wolves."

"What kind of wolves?" Cho asked pointedly.

"Both." Harry answered to confirm her suspicion. "Although they aren't as bad as the vampires."

"Is that why you moved here? After you saved that other village?"

Harry nodded his head before he replied.

"I still wanted to do good things. When I saved that village, Oxley told me of Barrow. Apparently, once every three or four years, a pack of vampires would come across the town during the month of darkness and just wipe the place out. So, I moved up here to help them defend themselves from the vampires. Of course, they don't know that."

Cho was amazed. Harry Potter, hero of the Wizarding World, angry at everyone, still saving people.

Suddenly, Harry turned down the path in front of a quaint little house. Obviously, it was his. It was a small blue house that looked like it probably could have used a couple months of repairs. However, Cho wasn't there to judge him or his house.

They stepped into the house and Cho was incredibly surprised. While she expected the house to be dark and empty save for a chair here and there, it was the exact opposite. The house was incredibly bright and well-lit. A matching furniture set with a rather large television set adorned the living room.

Suddenly, Cho saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She turned and noticed a picture of Lily and James Potter, hanging on the wall. Next to them was a picture of Harry with who Cho was sure was his godson, Teddy Lupin. However, the last picture on the wall surprised her the most. It was the same picture of the Golden Trio that had adorned the cover of the Daily Prophet.

"Why do you have this photo?"

"What? I'm not allowed to have a photo of myself on the wall?" Harry said as he sat in his recliner.

"No. It's not that. If you feel so betrayed by them, why do you keep a picture of them on the wall?"

Harry took a deep breath before he replied.

"Because that was the last truly happy day that I can remember. Everything after that, there was something political involved. The one year memorial, the trial, the lawsuit, my dismissal."

"Speaking of the lawsuit, how did you get the money to buy this place?"

"The Alaskan Ministry Office pays me a bit and I got some money from Andromeda." Harry said as he stared at the floor.

In that moment, Cho had never seen Harry so disheartened. He was embarrassed, distressed, angry, saddened, and guilty at the same time. Cho dropped into the couch next to Harry and took his hand.

"Come home, Harry." Cho asked of him. "We miss you."

Suddenly, the guarded Harry that she had seen earlier made a reappearance.

"We, Cho? I haven't seen you in years. How you be a part of we?"

"Because you saw what I was like at the Battle of Hogwarts. I know you did. I wanted to be alone with you to tell you that I was sorry. That I understood everything that you had been talking about."

"Too little, too late."

"I was right wasn't I?" Cho snapped at him. "You and Ginny didn't last much longer than a year. She didn't understand, did she?"

"No." Harry admitted shortly.

"Harry, do you know why I took the job as American Ambassador when it was offered to me?"

"Because it's a fantastic job."

"True. I also took it because I knew that Harry Potter was in the United States. When I got there, the first thing I asked the American Ministry for was for any sightings of Harry Potter to be reported. Now, it obviously didn't work because I just found out about a bunch of people that had seen you and never reported it. But, I wanted to be there person that when Harry Potter finally decided he was ready to come home, I would be the person he would come see."

The look on Harry's face was one that Cho had never seen on him before: shock.

"Thanks, Cho. I appreciate it. But you have to understand something. I'm never going home. Not after what they put me through."

"They need you again, Harry." Cho returned.

"They always needed me until they didn't need me anymore." Harry replied sadly.

Suddenly, Cho stood up and walked across the room and pointed at the pictures on the wall.

"You see these people here? Ron? Hermione? Teddy? Even your parents?"

"Yes." Harry replied with a growl.

"They're all going to die if you don't help."

Harry opened his mouth as if to speak before letting the words that Cho spoke settle in. For the next few minutes, he made a few attempts to speak. Suddenly, he was able to find one word.

"How?"

Finally.

"A group of international terrorists are ripping through Europe. For some reason, they've selected us as their next target. We've managed to capture one of them but the other is..."

"What?"

"Let me put it this way: Ron went one on one with her and the only reason he's alive is that she left him to die."

"WHAT?"

"She and her team killed every single person at the Czech Ministry and then set a trap for Ron. Ron fell in perfectly and ended up in St. Mungos with enough injuries that they couldn't heal him all at once."

"Wow."

"Ron is a Senior Auror. In fact, he is probably going to be _the _Senior Auror soon and this woman waxed the floor with his blood."

"What does this have to do with me?" Harry asked.

"The Frenchman, Bruno Christoph, is the one we captured. He said that he would talk, but only to you."

"Why me?"

"Because you're Harry Potter." Cho said with a joking smile. "Honestly, I have no idea. He just wants to talk to you."

"Well, that won't happen." Harry replied abruptly. "I told you, Cho, I'm not going home."

"Harry, your godson, your best friends, and the memory of your parents will be slaughtered if you don't come back! Your godson, Teddy, when was the last time you saw him?"

"Leave him out of this." Harry grumbled.

"How old is he?"

"I said...leave him out of this."

"He can't be out of this!" Cho yelled. "He still lives with Andromeda just outside of London. Hermione and Ron live in London. I don't know what these people plan on doing or why they're doing it. That's not my job. All I know is that the possibility of everyone you've ever known or loved dying is there!"

"Why should I care? They don't love me!"

"Harry, you don't know that. They're asking for your help. Go there, if they still seem like they're against you, then you can leave but we need you goddamn help!"

Harry stood up and got directly in Cho's face and it was at this point that she realized that Harry had gotten much taller and much more menacing. His green eyes seemed to pulse with rage as he leaned in and got within inches of her face.

"My help got me blamed for the death of 127 people at the Battle of Hogwarts and lost me 987,000 Galleons and my fucking job!"

"That was four years ago, Potter! Things change, people change! You have to be willing to forgive people sometime!"

"I still haven't forgiven you!"

"Then maybe you aren't as grown up as you think you are." Cho said before turning around and sitting on the couch behind her.

Harry stormed upstairs and slammed a door. He wouldn't come down for the rest of the night.

* * *

**6:31 AM**

"Wake up."

Cho rolled over in her sleep to see the face of Harry Potter staring at her.

"What do you want?"

"They're here."

"Who?"

"The vampires." Harry whispered.

"What do you mean they're here?"

"I have a bunch of security wards around town. They can sense whenever they come around. They're on their way into town and we need to move now."

"You do it by yourself every other time. Why do you need me now?" Cho asked him.

"Because the whole tribe is coming. It will be easier with two of us."

Instantly, Cho jumped to her feet and pulled her jacket on. She ran across the room and picked up her white overcoat and threw it over her. Within it, she pulled her wand out and was ready to go.

Harry silent rushed to the door and yanked it open. The wind had died down from the previous night although the frigid temperatures remained. Harry slowly checked the streets, looking for an attacker, before he jumped off his porch and sprinted out into the streets.

Whatever Harry did in his free time, it had made him a phenomenal athlete. He sprinted down the main street of town in heavy winter boots that would have slowed anyone but the most fit of people down. Cho did everything she could to keep up with him. However, just when she thought that he would get out of side, he stopped.

Cho hurried up to him and stopped next to him.

"Where are they?" she asked in between huge breaths.

"There." Harry whispered softly, nodding in front of them.

His eyes must have been trained for everything because she saw nothing...for a moment. Then, she saw them. While most vampires in Europe and certainly more temperate areas chose to live closer to society, these obviously did not. They had fully accepted their lives as beasts and they appeared to be more monster than man. They wore only a black cloak, not dissimilar to the one that Lord Voldemort had been famous for wearing years earlier. Their eyes were blood red and their skin was the palest of colors with red veins lining their body.

They stumbled more than walked and their minds had apparently been completely taken over with a lust for blood.

"Don't think." Harry said slowly.

"What?"

"A long time ago, they may have been people. However, that was before they chose this life. We have a number of remedies that can reduce the thirst. They chose this."

"You really believe that."

Harry turned to her slowly.

"You have to."

Suddenly, he turned and marched toward the crowd of beasts. Cho did a quick headcount and saw that there were at least 50. She could certainly say that she was terrified. The man who had destroyed 14 Romanian terrorists single-handed probably wasn't.

He stepped forward and leveled his wand at the vampires.

_"Lumos Maxima!"_

Instantly, the brightest blast of light Cho had ever seen exploded from Harry's wand. Suddenly, Cho realized that she was actually there to help. She stepped forward next to Harry and followed his lead.

The combination of the two light blasts forced the large center of the group back, cowering in both pain and fear. Cho was incredibly proud to be there, standing next to Harry Potter, fighting the good fight. She hadn't been there for him in the past and now, she thought that she was doing everything she could to make it up to him.

She was proud until she realized that Harry turned around and attacked behind them. Cho glanced a look behind her and noticed that there was an even larger group approaching them from behind.

"They knew we were coming." Harry replied simply. "This could be problematic."

Suddenly, the two of them broke formation and started blasting away at random vampires. As they got closer, they seemed to realize that these were two people with blood to feed on and rushed quicker. It did make recognizing the ones who were closer easier. However, it was rather disconcerting to see vampires running directly at them.

The accuracy and power that Harry showed was remarkable when you considered that he often fired three or four times for every one of hers. However, power and accuracy was slowly losing to numbers. They kept getting closer.

"Harry, what do we do?" Cho said as she blasted the head off of a vampire that had been approaching her.

"I'm not sure." he replied as he took out three different ones with a blasting curse.

Suddenly, someone brushed the back of Cho's neck and she turned around to see a vampire within inches of her. She quickly launched him back several yards before finishing him off but the damage was done. Once they saw that they could get in close, they all rushed simultaneously.

"HARRY!"

"Cho! Let's go!" Harry said as he took off while still firing curses and hexes left and right.

Cho followed him and continued to attack. They ran away from town so no one would see them. After several minutes of running, they ran into a glacier wall.

"Harry. It's a dead end." Cho said softly.

"I know." he replied as he turned back to face the vampires. "At least we'll be able to see them all coming this way."

"Great. I get to see my killer before they eat me."

"Oh, they won't kill you." Harry replied shortly before leveling his wand and firing again.

The rush of vampires finally caught up to them and despite whatever Harry and Cho tried, they couldn't force them back. They kept getting closer and closer. First, they were several meters away. Then, they were only one meter away.

Finally, one grabbed Harry and another grabbed Cho, pulling her to the ground. Just as Cho closed her eyes and expected the bite, a blast of light just as large as Harry's had been. In fact, it may have been the brightest light Cho had ever remembered seeing.

The result of instantaneous. The sound of the light searing the skin of the vampires echoed through the frozen tundra as the vampires ran in both pain and fear. Cho didn't dare open her eyes, fearful of both Harry's fate and the identity of their protector.

Finally, when she got brave enough, she took a peek. Harry laid next to her, staring at her and breathing deeply but otherwise unharmed. Suddenly, they realized that they weren't alone.

Cho turned and saw their protector. He was an incredibly tall man dressed in a perfectly tailored black cloak. His angular features mixed with his blonde hair made him very attractive.

"Thank heavens." he said softly as he approached us. "I thought I got here too late."

Suddenly, Harry jumped to his feet and leveled his wand at the attractive stranger.

"Who are you?"

In a strange response, the man simply smiled.

"Calm down, son. My name is Noah, I live here in Barrow studying vampires."

"Studying vampires? The vampires that Harry has to stop from attacking the town?" Cho asked harshly.

"Yes. You see there are usually two or three tribes out here that wander towards town. I observe their tendencies and then report back to Anchorage with my findings."

"You don't think that stopping them is important?" Cho asked again.

"I do. I tend to watch from farther out of town. I didn't know they were getting this close."

"Well, they are." Harry replied coldly. "Let's get back to town. We're all going to my house."

"Sounds good."

* * *

An hour later, they had returned to Harry's house and they were listening to Noah tell his story. He had graduated from the American Witches and Wizards Academy in 1991 and instantly had gone to work for the American Ministry. For the first few years he had worked there, he had been working to cure lycanthropy. However, when their facility was attacked by vampires, he found a new obsession and moved to Barrow, one of the most infested areas in the world because of the polar twilight each January.

"So you've been here for three years?" Harry asked.

"Almost. It will be three years in May." Noah replied.

"Where do you live?" Cho asked.

"Actually, my back yard touches Harry's." Noah answered as he stood and pointed out the window to a house just behind Harry's. "That one's mine."

Suddenly, Harry turned to Cho.

"Can I talk to you in the hallway?"

Cho, unsure of what Harry wanted, nodded and followed him outside. Once they were out of an earshot of Noah, Harry turned to her.

"I want you to leave."

"What?" Cho replied in shock.

"I'm not going home, Cho. They will have to figure something out without me. I'm happy here."

"Then why can't I stay for a bit?" Cho asked.

"Because I'm incredibly suspicious of this guy. Maybe that's just my nature but something about him feels wrong. If something goes down, I don't want you in the crossfire."

"Still trying to save everyone, Harry Potter?"

"Not everyone, just you."

"Harry, I can take care of myself."

"I know." Harry replied. "That's what worries me. It worries me that you'll try and step in if something happens."

"Harry-"

"Cho, I want you to leave. This isn't a request." Harry said, suddenly firm.

It was at this point that Cho realized that she would need to change tactics. However, she was going to need to move quickly if she was going to get the people here she needed here before Harry decided to pick up and leave town.

"Fine, Harry." Cho replied unhappily. "But I'll come back for a visit eventually."

"I'll let you know when it's safe." Harry replied with a smile.

"Take care of yourself, Harry."

"You too, Cho."

Suddenly, Harry pulled her into the most surprising hug that she could remember. Now, she could really feel the developed musculature that Harry had put on in his time away. Harry or not, she certainly couldn't say she wasn't enjoying herself.

When Harry let her go, she gave a brief smile before turning and walking out the door. Once she was out, she quickly made her way back to the bar they had come in and using some of the Floo Powder she had taken from Harry, she transported herself back to Anchorage and the Alaskan Ministry.

* * *

Once she was back in the Ministry, she ran out of the Ministry building and found the first telephone she could find. She needed to talk to Hermione Granger instantly and the best way to do that was to call her. Since Granger was a Muggle-born, she had some technology that no other wizard used.

And Cho knew that Hermione Granger had a telephone in her office, powered by magic, that she could use in emergencies. Instantly, she called the number and waited. Suddenly, the line picked up.

"Who is this?" Hermione growled suspiciously over the phone.

"Hermione, this is Cho."

"Cho! Oh my goodness! Is everything alright? Did something bad happen?"

"Hermione...I found him."

* * *

**Barrow, AK**

**7:51 AM**

****Harry watched Cho leave with a combination of relief and regret. Relief that he was alone again in his sanctuary but regret that he had just forced one of the few people who knew him that he didn't had out of his door.

However, that wasn't important at the moment. What was important was the man in his living room. Harry turned on the spot and went back to him.

"Alright, Noah, spill it." Harry said.

Instantly, the man dropped his act.

"I figured as much. You are far too observant to not have noticed."

"No one has lived in that house for the entire time I've been here. I personally checked each and every house in town when I got here. Now, are you actually living there?"

"Yes, I am."

"Why?"

"To watch the great Harry Potter of course."

So, the man did know who he was. That was disconcerting but not unexpected. Harry hadn't hid who he was once he got to Alaska. It's just that since the town was most inhabited by Muggles, they didn't particularly care who he was.

"Are you here to kill me?"

"Mr. Potter, if I was here to kill you, I would have simply left you to the vampires. No, I'm here to help you."

"Help me with what?"

"Your friend there is right. Everyone you have ever known and loved will be killed if you don't return to help." Noah replied.

"Is that a threat?"

"Not really, no. It is simply a fact. No one can stop The Jester. No one but you."

"So you're going to help me with that?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Yes."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"Well, before she was corrupted and became The Jester, I knew her simply as Azoli Vindogradoff."

"How did you know her?"

Noah suddenly looked very sad. Harry didn't particularly care why.

"I was an American studying in Moscow. There, I met Azoli. She was beautiful, smart, engaging. Then, she changed."

"I don't need your story. Why do you think that I need to go home and why do you think that you can help me?" Harry demanded.

"You need to go home because you are the only wizard talented enough to stop her. And to answer your second question, I can help you because I know her strategies inside and out."

"How?"

"Because when I was in Moscow, I taught them to her. She simply perfected them."


	7. VII

**February 7, 2004**

**Barrow, AK**

It had been a couple days since Cho left. Harry couldn't say that he was happy to see her leave. He had definitely enjoyed the time that she had been there. Even though Harry didn't particularly care for Cho anymore, having someone around who knew Harry and knew what he had done for the world was nice.

Harry would never admit it to anyone but he hated the fact that no one knew where he was here in Alaska. He didn't want the publicity of the Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One or The Golden Trio. But, he wanted someone who really knew who Harry was. But while he was protecting the town from their nocturnal invaders, he didn't dare get to close to anyone.

The news that another wizard had moved into town just to train him to defeat someone that he had no interest in ever fighting was both interesting and disconcerting. He was curious to know how he knew that he was here. Like he had thought days before, Harry never hid who he was. It was possible that through the chain someone could have said the name and had be recognized for more than an incredibly generic name.

This morning, Harry was going back to work. Harry, after long years of studying and training as an Auror, didn't know how to not work. So, when he got to Barrow, he instantly signed up to join the crew of one of the fishing crews in the area. Despite the cold weather of the area, there were still thousands of fish in the nearby Bering Strait and Arctic Ocean. Harry would often be gone two or three days before returning home._  
_

This week, they had been contracted by a scientific organization based out of Sioux Falls to collect a rare breed of Arctic jellyfish known as the Lion's mane jellyfish. Apparently, they were well known for their massive size and powerful sting. Either way, he was going to be gone out on the water for a couple of days. It would save him from having to spend all of his time thinking about his decision not to go home.

Cho's stab about Teddy was particularly hurtful. After his self-imposed exile, Harry had only managed to sneak a visit with him three times. Once, in a day Harry was very proud of, he snuck all the way back to Ireland to meet with them. Harry knew that, like Molly Weasley who he had heard was not in good condition, Andromeda was not healthy anymore. If she passed away, Harry was the only person Teddy had left. It hurt him to think that he may have to take him away from his home.

It scared him even more to think that he may have to return to be with him.

Harry had spent so little time paying attention that when he got to the docks, he didn't realize that his boss was yelling at him.

"Potter! Potter, get over here!"

Quickly, Harry rushed over to the portly old man so that he wouldn't have a nervous breakdown before they left port.

"What is it, chief?"

"Two things. First, we don't have the finances to pay everyone on this trip and as one of the newest employees, we have to leave you off this trip."

Damn. This had happened once before and it definitely killed his mood for the next few days.

"OK, boss. Now, what's the other thing?"

"These two young ladies were looking for you." his boss replied as he pointed off away from the shore. "They're over there."

Harry's eyes followed the man's stubby fingers. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of who he was looking for. She was faced away from him, bundled in a hat and gloves with a thick black cloak covering her. However, for all that clothing, she let her bushy, ginger hair flow down her back. She appeared to be talking to Cho Chang.

Harry couldn't breath. All he could do was slowly walk back towards his house. Suddenly, he found himself at a bit of a run. That's when he heard her voice.

"Harry!" Hermione Granger yelled after him. "Harry, stop! Please!"

But, he wouldn't stop. Not until he was gone. He couldn't be around them anymore. Not only was he angry at her for her betrayal of him, but he was afraid for her life. He just wanted them all to live their lives free of the terrors that come with being friends with Harry Potter.

Harry ran all the way back to his house. Quickly, he deadbolted the door and started piling things in front of the door. Just as he realized how silly it was that he was trying to keep her out like a Muggle criminal, a voice spoke to him.

"Harry, calm down."

Just as Cho had surely felt days ago when Harry had caught her, that's exactly how he felt now. He slowly turned around to face Hermione Granger, member of The Committee of Inquires into The Events at Hogwarts on May 2, 1998 and The Battle Between Lord Voldemort and His Cohorts vs. Harry Potter, The Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army and Various Cohorts.

Instantly, Harry was transported back to that day, one year, two months, three weeks and one day after the Battle of Hogwarts, where the decision of that committee was made.

* * *

Harry sat in the courtroom, staring blindly at his feet, waiting for the decision to come. They had spent weeks interviewing and interrogating and interviewing again everyone who had anything to do with the Battle of Hogwarts. They had done their own investigation into the facts of the Battle of Hogwarts. Everyone knew that it wasn't going to be pretty.

Suddenly, Amos Diggory, chairman of the committee stood.

"Members of the Wizengamot, executive committee of the Ministry and gathered parties, it is with great sorrow that I make this report on behalf of my committee."

Amos Diggory, a man on the rise in the Ministry. However, in Harry's eyes, he was still angry at Harry over the death of his son, regardless of what he may say to the contrary.

"Mr. Diggory, let us hear your findings." Kingsley said from the main bench.

It was rare for Kingsley to be present at Wizengamot meetings. However, this one, the one determine the blame of the entire Second Wizarding War, was incredibly important.

"On May 2, 1998, Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, a great battle ensued. Among the Death Eaters and their allies, we collected 121 bodies in the aftermath. These Death Eaters attacked the school because Harry Potter was present at the school."

Instantly, the eyes of everyone in the room shifted to him.

"Why was Harry Potter present at the school? He had been on the run from the Dark Lord for nearly ten months at this time. In our investigation, it was discovered that Harry Potter knew of a dark secret. He knew that Lord Voldemort had created 7 Horcruxes. For those of you ill-acquainted with the Dark Arts, a Horcrux is an object used to collect a piece of one's own soul, forcibly separated from the rest by murder."

A visible shudder went across the whole room as Diggory explained what a Horcrux was. Harry hated that he had been forced to give up this detail. If not for this investigation, Harry would have taken that secret to the grave.

"Anyway, Harry had been taught the secrets of Lord Voldemort by none other than Albus Dumbledore. During Harry's sixth year, Potter and Dumbledore viewed the memories of numerous people in connection with the past of Lord Voldemort to discover that Lord Voldemort had, in fact, created these Horcruxes. Over the next year, Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger chased these Horcruxes down and destroyed them one by one."

Harry knew where he was going with the story next. He didn't want to go there at all.

"However, something strange was happening to Harry. Harry could see into the mind of the Dark Lord, able to predict his actions and generally be one step ahead of him. This is why he went to Hogwarts. There was the last of the Horcruxes, Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem and Nagini, Lord Voldemort's pet snake. Potter managed to destroy the diadem. Then, Harry snuck to the Shrieking Shack to find the snake. While he was there, he witnesses the heroic death of Severus Snape. While he was living, many of us believed Severus Snape to be the Dark Lord's greatest ally. However, we learned from Mr. Potter himself that Snape was not this man. In this moment, Snape passed a collection of memories to Potter before his death."

Please stop. Please...just stop.

"Potter proceeded to the Headmaster's Office to view the memories. There, he learned that Severus Snape, due to an undying love for Potter's mother, Lily, had left Lord Voldemort years earlier to protect Harry in her memory. It was also during these memories that Harry learned that he had become a Horcrux himself when Lord Voldemort had attempted to kill him that fateful Halloween night."

No one in the room spoke. Harry wished he could disappear. He was tired of hearing this story and he was tired of telling it.

"So, Harry gave himself up. He walked out to the Forbidden Forest and was killed by Lord Voldemort. However, when Lord Voldemort was resurrected three years earlier, he apparently made one fatal mistake. He took Harry's blood as he own. As such, this gave Harry a connection to the living world that could not be broken. Therefore, Harry was brought back and was able to defeat the Dark Lord in battle."

Finally, the story was over and the room seemed to be getting restless. Harry knew what was next would define the impact of the war.

"Mr. Diggory, what party do you blame for the tragedies of the Second Wizarding War?" Kingsley asked.

"Minister Shacklebolt, it is this committee's belief that the responsibility lies with Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter."

They said it. Harry couldn't believe it. They were really going to try and blame some of the war on him. He was beside himself with anger.

"Lord Voldemort is obviously responsible because without his terror, none of the rest of these actions were needed." Diggory explained. "However, when it came to those we entrusted to defend us from the Dark Lord, Harry Potter is to blame for the unnecessary deaths. Mr. Potter knew of the Horcruxes months before the Battle of Hogwarts and yet chose to inform no one."

Diggory stopped his pacing and faced the court, armed with his words and ready to fire.

"Instead, he and two of his classmates went out into the world wasting countless hours simply hiding from the forces of evil while the rest of the the world suffered for it. Then, during the battle itself, Harry did not present himself as a fighter, someone there to defend others. Instead, he ran to find lost relics that he believed on the off chance could be used to destroy the Dark Lord."

The room seemed to have an incredibly strange vibe. Harry didn't think that many of the people in there actually wanted to blame him. However, Harry could see a number of people that seemed to be outraged by the lack of trust he showed in them.

"In the end, Mr. Potter trusted himself and two other teenagers with the fate of the world. The Ministry would have helped him if he had only asked."

With this, Amos Diggory took his seat. Kingsley spoke to those around him for a moment before speaking again.

"Hermione Granger, please rise."

Instantly, she stood and faced the Minister of Magic.

"Miss Granger, you went with Mr. Potter on his journey and you are a member of this committee. Do you agree with this finding?"

Suddenly, Hermione went white. Harry wasn't certain what was so difficult about the question. Obviously she couldn't believe that. Could she?

"Miss Granger?"

As she snapped out of her fog, Hermione answered.

"I believe that Harry Potter had the best interests of the wizarding world in mind when he chose the course of action that he did."

Quickly, a murmur went around the room as Hermione spoke. Harry smiled as he watched his best friend defend him. Job or not, she knew what was right.

"However..."

That was Hermione's voice.

"However, I do believe that there are certain things that could have been handled better in regard to how we searched for the Horcruxes."

Whereas before the room buzzed with life, now the room was dead silent. Harry couldn't believe what he had just heard. Did she just agree with the committee? She wouldn't blindly say yes, of course. However, it sounded to Harry that she agreed with them.

"What things could have been handled better?" Kingsley asked her.

"I believe that the Order of the Phoenix, while technically an illegal organization at the time, should have been involved more."

"For what purposes?"

"I think that they could have been used to search more while we were away." Hermione answered shortly.

Harry couldn't believe it. Even if that's how she felt, the fact that she had just ratted him out, in public and without warning, was insane. Harry's hands shook with anger. He couldn't even imagine that he would have heard that come out of her mouth.

"Mr. Potter." Kingsley said from his pedestal. "Would you like to defend yourself before the court reaches its judgement?"

Could he without exploding? Obviously, he wanted to defend himself. He just wasn't sure that he would handle himself well. Regardless, he stepped down from his seat and made his way to the floor. As he stepped down, he glared at Hermione, who simply stared at the floor below her.

"Everything you have heard from Amos Diggory is true." Harry started.

He didn't want people to get the wrong impression. Diggory had done the reporting in the most factual way he could. It was not the what he was here to dispute, it was the "why."

"Everything you heard from Mr. Diggory is absolutely fact." Harry repeated. "However, what he did not include was _why _I did what I did. I did what I did to protect you. Each and every person in this room and every witch or wizard in England was better off because of how I acted. Firstly, I had been instructed by Albus Dumbledore before his death to not divulge the information that was just shared with anyone other than Ron and _Miss Granger." _Harry said, although he couldn't help but growling Hermione's name a bit.

"I think that he chose this because he knew what The Order of the Phoenix knew. The Ministry, between active Death Eaters that still worked there and their Impurused victims, was slowly being overtaken. That's why, when Lord Voldemort chose to take over, it was so easy. He faced little to no resistance because he owned most of the people that would fight him."

Harry took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"I think that Albus Dumbledore knew that the Ministry would fall."

As he expected, a buzz circled the room. Harry held a hand up to silence the room and within seconds, he had their attention once more.

"As a result of this belief, Dumbledore instructed me to be as secretive as possible. No one knew what we were doing. The Weasley's, who we were staying with before we disappeared, had no clue what exactly we were doing. Dumbledore knew that if the Ministry fell, there would be some people who would talk to get better treatment from the new Ministry. He also knew that there would be some people, like Arthur Weasley, that would continue to work at the new Ministry, spying on them from within. However, if Arthur knew what we were doing, the odds of him being forced to speak after slipping up or revealing something he shouldn't have known increased greatly. If no one knew where we were, no one could be forced to testify about our whereabouts or what we were doing."

"Mr. Potter, do you really believe that hiding this search from the rest of us was in our best interest?"

"If Tom Riddle had discovered that we were searching for his Horcruxes, he would have gone directly to them and he would have moved them to new locations and we would have to start looking all over again. So, to answer your question simply, yes."

Kingsley began speaking to the people around him on the court. Suddenly, he looked down at Harry. The look on his face gave him away instantly. He thought that Harry was going to lose.

"Members of the court, remember this is not a criminal case. No one will go to Azkaban for this. We are simply deciding the reason why this war was fought the way it was and if there is a reason that it could have been better."

Harry slowly turned and walked back to his seat. He didn't need to see this from down there.

"Those who agree with the committee's decision and that blame for the war and its outcome be blamed on Thomas Marvolo Riddle aka Lord Voldemort and Harry James Potter, please mark the affirmative."

As Harry took his seat, he saw flashes of light shine all around the room. Suddenly, a number shined, floating in the middle of the room: 118.

"That is 118 votes in agreement. Those that disagree?"

Again, the lights flashed, although Harry very quickly noticed that there were less lights. Suddenly, the 118 that floated changed in a 43.

"43 votes against. Any abstentions?"

Three lights quickly flashed and Harry knew that he was done. He didn't even wait for the verdict. He slowly stood up and made his way to the door. As he walked, Kingsley spoke.

"As Minister of Magic and head of this tribunal, I agree with the court's decision. We find Thomas Marvolo Riddle and Harry James Potter guilty of..."

Harry didn't hear Kingsley finish as he walked out the door. At that point, he didn't care.

* * *

Back in the present, Harry could feel the blood pounding in his ears. He balled up his fist and clenched so hard that he was sure he was going to draw blood. It was taking everything he had not to attack her. And he wouldn't have used a wand to do it.

"Harry..." Hermione said cautiously.

"Granger, if you value your life, you get the hell out of my house." Harry roared.

Instantly, Hermione took a step back, obviously fearful of what her friend had become. Suddenly, Harry heard a small pop and turned to look in the living room where Cho Chang had just Apparated into his chair.

"Harry." Cho said with a nod.

"Cho, I believe I asked you not to tell anyone where I lived."

"I didn't." Cho replied innocently. "She followed me here."

"Did you tell her to follow you?" Harry replied accusingly.

"Possibly."

Harry turned and roughly started removing the objects that he had placed in front of the door. Within moments, the path was clear and Harry tore the door open.

"Out." Harry replied. "Both of you."

"Harry..."

Suddenly, Harry drew his wand and aimed in directly between Hermione's eyes.

"Go back to Ron, Granger. Get out of my house."

"Well, I can't go back to Ron right now actually." Hermione replied with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Why not?" Harry shot back.

"Well, things haven't been great with us over the last few months. I left about six months ago and haven't really been back. I thought things were working again. But, when I told Ron I was coming here to bring you back, he got very upset."

"He probably got upset because you went looking to bring the one person in his life who brought him the most misery."

Suddenly, the look on Hermione's face changed. Harry didn't like this look. It was one of sympathy and pity, two things that Harry definitely didn't need.

"How can you say that, Harry?" she asked softly.

"Let's see: Percy abandoning their family, his house burning to the ground, the whole Horcrux hunt, Fred's death, the fact that the whole war was my fault, the fact that I had to start borrowing money from you after they took all mine and to top it off, I've heard that Molly has dementia, probably as a result of the war." Harry bellowed at Hermione.

"How can you blame yourself for any of that?" Hermione asked in confusion.

At this point, both of them seemed to have forgotten that Cho was in the room. They were simply airing out six years of bad laundry. But, Cho knew what Harry's answer was going to be and it wouldn't be pretty.

"Because you fucking told me that it was all my fault!" Harry screamed. "The whole war was my fault! No one else had their name dragged through the papers like I did after that! I only was cornered for the whole war!"

"Harry, we blamed Lord Voldemort as well." Hermione replied, letting her voice rise a bit for the first time.

Harry's voice, however, seemed to keep rising.

"AS WELL? He should have received every bit of the blame! All of it! You know for a fact that I did everything I could to protect everyone! I gave myself up to die, Hermione! Do you remember that? Do you know what it's like to march, alone in the forest, knowing that the only thing ahead of you is death? No! You don't! You stood in that courtroom and you told them that _I _could have handled things differently!"

"You could have, Harry! We could have done things better!"

"You can always do things better!" Harry roared, continuing his tirade. "But, you stood in that courtroom and blamed me. You just said that we could have done things better. **We. **And yet you dare stand in that courtroom and blame me alone!"

"I was asked if I agreed with the statement that Amos had said." Hermione replied, still not allowing her voice to rise too high. "I said that I didn't entirely agree. However, I do think there were things we could have done better."

"Why didn't you tell me beforehand that this was how you felt?" Harry replied, almost pleading with her.

"Because we weren't allowed to talk about our feelings. As a member of that committee, I-"

"Fuck what the committee said or what you were or weren't allowed to do!" Harry shouted in a gleeful rage. "If you were going to hand me the wolves, the least you could have done was warn me."

"We couldn't talk abo-"

"Hermione, just get out." Harry replied, finally coming back to Earth.

"I had a job to do, Harry."

"I'm glad that you chose that job over me." Harry shot back coldly. "You were my best friend, Hermione. Ron may have been the person I hung out with more but without a doubt, you meant more to me than any person I had ever met."

"Harry..."

"I think I loved you, Hermione. No one had ever understood me like you did. You knew what it was like to be alone in a world that seemed foreign to you. You were always there for me and I did everything I could to be there for you."

At this point, tears streamed down Harry's face as he bared his soul to Hermione. He knew that he shouldn't do this, that she didn't deserve to know anymore but for some reason, he simply couldn't stop.

"Then, you chose your job over me. The one opportunity you had to stand up and publicly stand by my side and you gave me up."

Hermione, tears forming in her eyes, stepped forward and placed her hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Harry, if I had lied, they could have thrown me Azkaban." she replied softly.

Suddenly, the tears left Harry's eyes, replaced by a fiery rage.

"Hermione, I would have gotten the Kiss rather than give you up for a job." Harry spoke, so softly he could hardly be heard.

Then, Harry turned to the door and pulled it open again.

"If you don't leave now, I cannot promise your safety." Harry spoke plainly.

Hermione didn't seem to want to move. Then, she must have realized that Harry wasn't kidding because she slowly walked out the door. Harry turned to Cho.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Staying." Cho replied defiantly.

"No." Harry replied firmly. "You are not."

"Fine." Cho replied as she stood and made her way to the door before suddenly turning around. "Hermione and I are renting rooms at the bar. We just want to give you an idea of what you're up against."

"I'm not up against anything."

Suddenly, just as Cho made her way to leave, Noah came running in the front door.

"Was that Hermione Granger?" he asked in a panic.

"Yes." Cho replied softly.

"Great." he answered, obviously not excited about her being here.

Harry thought it was strange that Noah would care whether or not Hermione was here. The fact that he cared and that he seemed upset by the fact that she was here was something that Harry couldn't help but think about.

"I'll get out of your hair." Cho spoke up as she walked towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Fine." was Harry's short answer.

Once she was gone, Harry turned to Noah.

"Alright, Noah, you told me the other day that you trained this Jester. I want to know who she is and why the hell I should go back home to fight her."


	8. VIII

**A/N: This chapter is the longest chapter I've ever written for a story. I hope that it doesn't get too long/windy. Please let me know if it gets difficult to read. Also, I would like to thank everyone who's been reading for turning this into my most popular story ever. Please keep reading and reviewing and I'll try to work around my class schedule and work to get more chapters updated!**

**Also, I love talking character theory and so if you have a question about why a character acted the way they did, please message me!**

* * *

**February 7, 2004**

**9:21 AM**

**Barrow, AK**

"Alright, Noah, you told me the other day that you trained this Jester. I want to know who she is and why the hell I should go back home to fight her."

Instantly, Noah smiled. Harry thought that this was a strange reaction for someone who was basically being verbally assaulted.

"Alright, I'll tell you." Noah said as he chuckled.

"Good." Harry said as he took a seat on his couch across from Noah.

"So, I am 33 years old. I was in school in California until I was 18. After that, I took the Auror entrance exam and went through training. However, I never actually spent any time as an Auror. Instead, I was instantly recruited to start teaching at the Auror Academy in Chicago. Within six months, I was promoted to training duelists, beginning with an analysis of their abilities and then training them in a technique that they could use to use these abilities to their benefit. By the time I was 22, I was the most sought after trainer of duelists in the country. So sought after, in fact, that the Russian Ministry hired me."

"The Russians?" Harry asked. "Why? They didn't have their own people to train them?"

"I started in Moscow in 1993. In the early 1990's, the Russian Ministry went through a really rough period. Three straight Ministers were assassinated within six months. Their entire legislature boycotted a few sessions. Things were really tough there."

"What does that have to do with you?" Harry questioned.

"Well, they decided that the best way to correct the trend would be to pick a man to lead the country and then hire people to train others to protect them. So, me and three others were hired to train their new Auror recruits."

"Where you met her." Harry filled in.

"Yes, she was part of the first class I trained there." Noah said with a smile. "The test to get into the Auror Academy in Russia is one of the hardest in the world and it usually takes three or four tries to pass. But, Azoli was different. She passed with an incredibly high score on the first try and she had fantastic references. We expected a lot of wonderful things from here."

"I assume you got them." Harry said softly.

"You would assume wrong, Mr. Potter. While she always scored well on tests, her field tests were a mess. She got taken out very quickly and often seemed overwhelmed. She was still good but definitely not anywhere near great."

Harry was shocked to hear that someone so talented could end up being so average. It seemed like a waste of potential and ability.

"She just whacked Ron Weasley in a heartbeat." Harry replied sharply. "If she's often overwhelmed in the field, how the hell did she do that?"

"She got better." Noah said with a sinister smile. "She got a _lot _better."

"How?"

"One day, she was dueling another trainee when she unleashed a string of stunners at a speed that I had never seen before. The first one hit the shield of her opponent but the other two went straight through throwing her opponent to the ground. She was nearly kicked out of the class for it."

"Why? For being too successful?" Harry asked jokingly.

"No, in Russia, there is a very specific way to duel. Defense is the best offense, defense and anything in between. Duels are defend, counter, defend, counter, etc. She changed that. They were ready to tell her that she wasn't right for them when I was able to convince them otherwise."

"Well, if they're as stubborn as you say they are, that couldn't have been easy." Harry replied as he stood up and made his way to the bar in the corner of the living room.

"Drink?" Harry asked.

"Please." Noah replied before continuing with his story. "Anyway, no it wasn't easy. But, I managed to tell them that I could train her to be the best siege fighter they had ever seen. So, I started training her on the side."

"And that's how she turned into the killing machine she is today."

"Not quite yet." Noah replied seriously. "I told her to forgo normal defensive strategy. Make them miss and then fire and don't stop until they're on the ground. Her technique is to goad you into attack. Then, she'll dodge or deflect the first attack and return fire. However, she won't return just once or twice. She'll keep firing small curses and hexes until one slips through. When it does, everything is over. You'll be on the ground before you have any idea what's going on."

"Like Ron." Harry said as a chill went down his spine. He finished making his own drink and then walked back across the room and handed Noah his.

"Thanks." Noah said graciously. "And exactly like Mr. Weasley. You either have to be willing to fight on her terms or take the risk of fighting on your own."

"What does that even mean?" Harry asked accusingly.

"You have to adapt to her style. Dodge and fire, dodge and fire. Or...you can keep your style and defend until you get an opening and then return fire with the biggest and most destructive curses you can throw. If you try something in the middle, you'll end up like Weasley. Try and defend too long, you'll end up dead."

Harry instantly started thinking about the last time that he had been in a duel of any kind. It had been two months before his dismissal from the Auror Office. That had been well over four years ago. Even if he had been good enough to beat her then, there was no way he was now.

However, rather than think about that, Harry pressed on the one thing he was really interested in.

"How close were you?"

Harry watched as the breath in Noah's chest caught. Thinking for a second, he took a giant swig of his drink before he answered.

"I asked her to marry me."

This was exactly what Harry had expected. This was really how he knew what would get to her.

"What happened to her?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure." Noah admitted before he took another drink. "It's been about five years now since I've seen her. We started dating in early 1994, almost ten years ago. Instantly, I knew that it would be forever. She was so edgy and so powerful, yet so beautiful and refined. She was magnificent. Then in '98, everything changed."

"Don't I know it." Harry said with a grim smile as he downed the rest of his glass. "The last happy day of my life was in 1998."

"Mine, too. In March, she told me that she wanted to move to England. Now, the rest of the world knew what was going on in England. Or at least we had a very good suspicion. Pius Thicknesse was a simple a Minister as you ever had and England never has a simple Minister."

"No." Harry said softly. "We didn't, did we?"

"Anyway, we knew what was happening and she wanted to move there. It was insane. No one wanted to move to England during that time. Severus Snape kills Dumbleodre, he gets named Headmaster at Hogwarts. That alone meant things were going wrong over there and there were dozens of other things that could have tipped us off."

"So what happened?"

"On May 1st, she just left. Two days earlier, she had agreed to marry me. The day before she left, she asked me to come with her. Looking back now, she was asking me to _join_ her. Join her in her quest for power."

"How is that she had been perfectly normal for so long and then one day just completely lost it for power?" Harry asked.

"Oh, Azoli was never normal. You see, she was called The Jester in training and for a few reasons actually. First, I'm positive that she was clinically insane. Her sense of humor was as morbid as any I remember. She told the most horrible jokes and was the biggest practical joker I could remember. Secondly, she tended to verbally abuse her opponents, usually to her advantage."

"Well that doesn't sound too bad." Harry replied.

"That wasn't. However, the flip side of that was that she craved power. She worked insane hours, often up to 100 per week, in order to get promotions. She nearly killed another trainee because he beat her on a test. Now, they later found out that he cheated off of her's but still...I was able to look passed all of that. She was simply driven to succeed."

"She wasn't though."

"Excuse me?" Noah replied harshly. "You don't even know her."

"No, but I knew Lord Voldemort. All he wanted was power. He blamed everything on blood but realistically, it just gave him a good platform to operate from. All he wanted was control. Azoli saw that, envied it and joined him."

"She did. The last time I saw her was January of 1999. She had been on the run for nearly seven months because of the fact that she had joined Lord Voldemort."

"She didn't need to worry about it." Harry replied with a smirk. "They didn't know over half of the people who were there. Unless you were caught at the battle or they had previous evidence against you, they couldn't prosecute half the people who got away."

"Well she obviously didn't know that." Noah said with a chuckle. "Anyway, after she disappeared, I moved back to Anchorage. One night, she appeared on my doorstep."

"I bet that was a shock."

"You have no idea." Noah replied, a haunted look in his eyes. "It was a downpour outside and she was absolutely soaked. The look in her eyes were terrifying. She said she had discovered unimaginable power. Then, she took off and I haven't seen her again since then."

* * *

There's no way that Hermione could have expected Harry to be that angry. She figured that he was bitter, scared or embarrassed. There was never a thought in her mind that said that after all these years, Harry could still be angry. But when she heard Harry's voice, the rough rage that burned beneath the surface, she knew that he wasn't playing and he definitely wasn't acting.

"Well that was interesting." Cho said softly as they walked back towards the bar where they would be staying the night.

"Did he tell you not to bring me here?" Hermione asked her.

"Not you specifically." Cho answered.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm pretty sure he said that he didn't want anyone to know where he was."

"And you disobeyed him?" Hermione scolded.

Suddenly, Cho stopped in the snow, whipped around to Hermione and let her have it.

"Harry Potter is a fantastic wizard, no doubt. But right now, Harry Potter is a broken man. He's not some god to be worshiped or some great leader to be obeyed. I chose my own actions, believing that they would help Harry more than they would hurt them."

"How can you say that?" Hermione yelled. "Did you see the look on his face?"

"Yes. But you didn't see the look on his face after you left." Cho answered evenly.

After she left. What did that mean.

"I've never seen a man look so depressed in his entire life. Looking at you brought a whole host of memories back to him. All of the good things you went through. Did you even really hear what he said in there?"

"Which part?" Hermione asked.

"The part where he said that he loved you." Cho answered.

"Yes, I heard that. Why?"

"Because when he said that, I knew that we had gotten to him. That the simple fact of us being there to torment him was forcing him to relive things that he wanted to forget. But Harry's smarter than that. He knows that you can't simply forget something. Not something as deep and as close as the two of you shared."

"He was my best friend." Hermione said softly. "Nothing more."

"Nothing more? Do you remember when he let that man do that biography on him after he lost his fortune? Do you remember what he said about you?"

"Not exactly, no." Hermione replied honestly.

"I'm no good with remember exact wording but it was something like, 'Hermione was the thing that kept me afloat and kept me moving. In those moments, she became the most important part of my world.'"

Hermione was stunned, stopped in the middle of the street.

"How do you remember that?" Hermione asked her suspiciously.

"A few ways. First, I just read it again two weeks ago while I was searching for him. Second, well..."

"Well, what?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I'm not sure." Cho admitted. "After I got over the whole Marietta thing and realized what a dunce she had been, I wanted another chance with him. There was something gentle and loving about him that no other guy I ever dated had. I know I'm fairly attractive and that seems to be all they wanted to know about me."

"Harry was the same way." Hermione informed her.

"I know he was." Cho said with an immature giggle. "I watched him stare at me in the hallways for three years. But what was amazing was that during those DA meetings, he didn't look at me the same way. When I learned from him, when I opened myself up to him, he treated me better than anyone I had ever been with. The words in that book...I wanted him to say them about me."

"Why didn't things work out then?" Hermione asked they entered the bar.

"Because of Cedric." Cho replied bluntly.

"What?"

"Cedric died and Harry watched it happen. Harry didn't want to talk about it and I thought that I had to. I probably should have talked to someone about it, but I should have known that Harry didn't want to talk about that. It kind of blew up from there. I was upset that he wanted to hang with you just as much as me and then the whole Marietta thing."

"Why would him wanting to hang out with me upset you?" Hermione asked. "We had been friends since first year and Harry had never shown any interest in me."

"Because I was a 16 year old girl." Cho said, as if that explained everything.

"Ah." Hermione said with a smile.

The two of them walked up to the bar and took a seat at a pair of stools. The bartender came over and once he had taken their drink orders and filled them, they were the only ones there.

"All I wanted was for Harry to be happy." Hermione said out of the blue.

"Me too." Cho replied as she took a large gulp of the scotch in front of her.

"I think that's all anyone wanted."

"Not Amos." Cho answered.

"What makes you say that?" Hermione questioned.

"How much time did you spend with Amos Diggory outside of your work on that committee?" Cho asked, referencing their time spent on the committee that blamed Harry.

"None." Hermione answered. "I didn't think it would have been appropriate. We were all trying to formulate our own opinions and I didn't want to discuss the case with anyone outside of our meetings."

"Well, I saw him. My family is very good friends with the Diggory family. We had them over for dinner parties and for drinks quite often. The way Amos talked about Harry was...unique."

"How so?" Hermione asked, suddenly curious.

"While he praised Harry the same way that everyone else did, there was always a growl to it that no one else seemed to have. He was the only person I knew that added "buts" to the end of sentences like 'I'm so thankful for what that Potter boy did for us.'"

"Cho, are you saying that our committee was led by a man who secretly hated Harry Potter?" Hermione pressed.

Suddenly, the thought of this was pressed into her mind. If Amos Diggory hated Harry, then the fact that he had been on that committee could have been no accident. Now as Hermione thought about, she can't remember Amos saying one good thing about Harry over the course of her time on the committee. Hermione instantly felt the urge to vomit.

"He wasn't so secret about it, Hermione." Cho replied. "He paid for the lawyers against Harry in the lawsuit."

"I thought that was simply because he wanted those people to have a fair shot. A lot of them were quite poor and could have never afforded to get legal help."

"Yeah, legal help in a case against a man that Amos had been part of a committee that had told the whole country that the war was his fault." Cho said as she finished her drink.

"Are you saying...?"

"I'm saying that I'm pretty sure it's been public knowledge for years that Amos Diggory pulled a lot of strings to make Harry miserable." Cho replied darkly.

"Oh my god, how did I not see it?" Hermione yelled, scaring the bartender off of his stool at the other end of the bar.

"Because you weren't looking." Cho replied with a pointed stare.

The moment the words left her mouth, Hermione knew what Cho meant. Hermione didn't see because she wasn't looking. She wasn't looking because she didn't want to look. She didn't want to look because she was afraid she would lose her job.

Harry was right.

Harry was so right.

Hermione had been a willing accomplice to the machinations of an angry father and to her own hopes of a better job. She had given Harry up to keep her job.

"I have to go apologize to him." Hermione said as she jumped down from her stood.

"Save it until morning." Cho replied.

"Why? I need to see him now!"

"Unless you want Harry blasting you off his front porch, I would suggest staying here. This version of Harry stays madder a lot longer." Cho said with a smirk.

"Fine." Hermione said as she stood up from her stool. "I'm heading to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

Hermione finished her drink and then marched up the stairs on the other side of the room to the first door on the left, her room in Barrow. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see an envelope lying on the bed.

She reached down and grabbed it, tearing it open.

_Floo Me._

_-Arthur Weasley_

Knowing exactly what he meant, Hermione quickly turned around the fireplace in her room. She guessed that this being Alaska, they probably came fairly standard. Quickly, she grabbed the pouch that she had set on the fireplace and threw a bit of it into the fire.

"Arthur Weasley!" she yelled as she knelt down next to the fire. Instantly, she felt the fire wrap around her as she saw the Minister of Magic's office come into view.

Arthur Weasley turned around in his chair and leaned down to speak with her.

"Hermione, how is he?" Arthur asked desperately.

"He was fine until I got here." Hermione said with a depressed cackle. "He was not happy to see me."

"You couldn't have expected him to be, Hermione."

"I know." Hermione replied, although she didn't feel it and Arthur could tell.

"It wasn't all your fault, Hermione." he said softly. "We couldn't have known how he would take all of that."

"He shouldn't have been forced to." Hermione replied, nearly mimicking the growl in Harry's voice. "After all he went through, we should have given him enough money to live life without lifting another finger."

"I know, Hermione. We couldn't have known how much they would take from him."

* * *

**October 2, 1999**

**London, UK**

**Wizengamot Grand Courtroom**

"I hereby call the following case entitled _The Families of The Dead and Other Grievances of The Battle of Hogwarts and The Second Wizarding War Against Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix v Harry Potter _to order." Griselda Marchbanks, newly appointed leader of the Wizengamot, declared.

Hermione couldn't believe that they were back in this courtroom so soon. After the July 24 ruling against Harry that stated that it was his fault for The Battle of Hogwarts and the Second Wizarding War, people started clamoring that someone needed to pay for the damages to the school and the families of those who died at the Battle.

Then, one month ago, a civil case was filed on the behalf of The Families of the Dead Organization that had been created after The Battle of Hogwarts. This organization, while they left it out of their public name, were a group of people that had blamed Harry for the war to begin with. Once the court agreed with them, they started coming out of the woodwork to file against Harry.

One month ago, they filed the largest civil lawsuit against a single person in the country's history. 49 families and the governors of the school along with several businesses in Hogsmeade had joined together to sue Harry. The amount of money they were asking for was unheard of: 2,000,000 Galleons.

To put things in perspective, Harry was required to present information on how much he was worth. With the Potter fortune, the money Sirius left him and his new home plus Grimmauld Place, he was worth a total of 900,000 Galleons.

Today, The Families of the Dead Organization was going to ask for all of it. While there were numerous families represented, only four families would be present at the trial. They were the families of Emmeline Vance, Amelia Bones, Rufus Scrimgeour and Lavender Brown. The events of the takeover of the Ministry of Magic and the attacks beforehand had become public knowledge and with that, the deaths of Vance and Bones had been brought back up again after the fact.

Harry sat alone behind one of the two tables that sat in the middle of the main court room. Although Hermione had done everything she could to help him, he wouldn't allow her. In fact, he had barely talked to her in months. She knew that he was still angry at her for testifying against him during the trial, but she couldn't imagine that he would be angry with her too much longer.

"As we have already held most of the preliminary hearings on this matter, we will hear both sides of the argument today and then the Wizengamot will make a decision in this matter. While normally we would not hear testimony on a case like this, we have decided that the court needs to hear some live testimony in order to understand the pain and suffering that these families have endured. However, we will limit it to one member of each of the families present today. After they present, we will take a short recess and then Mr. Potter will be allowed to present his side. Does this please both sides?"

"It does not!" cried David Wallace, the lead counsel for the Families. "Each and every family that has been harmed by this travesty deserves to be heard."

"Mr. Wallace, we have already discussed this." Griselda said dispassionately. "You cannot and will not bring in 57 witnesses. Mr. Potter and these families deserve to have this resolved quickly."

"What Mr. Potter deserves is to be thrown in Azkaban for the rest of his days!"

That was the voice of Christopher Brown, the father of Lavender Brown, who had stood up and pointed at Harry with an accusing finger. Harry didn't even bother looking over. He just continued to stare blankly at the table and files in front of him.

"Mr. Brown, if you wish to remain in this courtroom, you will hold your tongue! Mr. Wallace, another outburst from you or your clients and I am throwing this case out and throwing you in jail! Now, keep control!"

Despite being nearly 145 years old, Griselda Marchbanks was a fireball and not someone to be toyed with. She appeared to calm down for a second before moving forward.

"Mr. Wallace, call your first witness."

"We call Doris Scrimgeour to the stand." Wallace replied smoothly.

Slowly, a slightly-older than middle aged woman rose from the accusers' table and made her way to the chair in the middle of the courtroom. There, she sat down and took a deep breath. Finally, once she settled in, she nodded her head, indicating that she was ready.

"State your name."

"My name is Doris Scrimgeour, widow of former Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour." she said softly.

"Mrs. Scrimgeour, please describe the day you learned of your husband's death."

Instantly, she dove into her story of the takeover of the Ministry. She told them how she learned from Kingsley Shacklebolt in the same way that they had learned. She learned that Kingsley had been in the next room when Rufus had refused to give up Harry, resulting in his death. Once she was done, tears streamed down her face.

"How has your life been affected by your husband's death?"

"I have four children, all of them just old enough to be starting at Hogwarts now. Thankfully, they go to school for most of the year. But when they get home, it is very difficult to take care of all of them by myself. Plus, because of a bad case of dragon pox when I was 27, I can only be on my feet for a few hours a day. This makes it very difficult to work. As it is, I've had to take a lot of assistance that I wouldn't have had to have if Rufus had been alive."

"Who do you blame for your husband's death?" Wallace asked again, obviously going for the big one.

"I blame Harry Potter. The rest of the wizarding world does too. We all should. Barely of age and he thinks that he can take on You-Know-Who by himself? Lunacy, that's what that is. No, that young man owes me and the rest of the world a big thank you that we didn't throw him in jail with the Death Eaters."

This was already not going well for Harry. The widowed and disabled wife of the Minister of Magic was laying it on thick and Hermione could see around the room that they were going for it.

When Hermione looked at the floor again, she noticed that Wallace had taken his seat and Harry had stepped forward to question her.

"Who killed your husband?" Harry asked harshly.

"You did."

"I did?" Harry asked, faking shock. Hermione knew that he knew what her answer would be. "You may blame me for your late husband's death but I can conjure about 100 witness who will say they saw me at Bill Weasley's wedding when your husband was murdered."

"You may not have cast the spell but it was your fault that he was put in that position at all."

"It was my fault that Rufus took the Minister's job?"

"No." she replied softly. "It was your fault that he was forced to defend you."

"He didn't have to. He could have just given me up." Harry replied quickly. "No further questions."

Hermione thought that Harry definitely could have pushed her farther. However, they both knew that driving the dagger into a widow may not be a tactic that would be seen positively in the court of public opinion.

The next man called up was James Vance, Emmeline Vance's oldest son. He was a few years younger than Harry and Hermione but looked years older. He was incredibly well put together. Whether that was how he normally dressed or if that was Wallace's influence and instruction, Hermione wasn't sure.

"Mr. Vance, how did your mother die?" Wallace asked, going straight for the heart.

"She was killed by Rabastian Lastrange in 1996. She was part of a group of people protecting the Muggle Prime Minister when they were attacked. She died to save everyone else." he said with a smooth baritone voice that seemed strange coming out of someone so young.

"She died a hero's death then." Wallace replied before turning back to him. "Why is this Harry Potter's fault? Your mother died before Harry Potter knew of the Horcruxes."

"But he knew of the Prophecy."

Ouch. The Prophecy had come up in the trial and had really made Harry look bad. Most people said that with that knowledge, he should have quit school, which was not mandatory, and started his training to defeat the Dark Lord.

"What does that matter?"

"Well, if he knew that the he needed to kill You-Know-Who, then he should have been more proactive. Maybe if he had asked more questions or been more aggressive in trying to kill Lord Voldemort, my mother wouldn't have needed to protect anyone and she would still be here today."

"Thank you." Wallace said before turning back to his seat.

Again, Harry stood and marched towards the witness.

"Have you ever been responsible for defeating evil?"

"No."

"Have you ever been told that without you, the whole world will end?"

"No."

"Have you ever witnessed your godfather, mentor and the man who risked years of his life to protect you die before your very eyes?"

"No."

"Have you ever been a teenager?"

This questions seemed to throw James off guard. Harry got tired of waiting for the confused young man to answer and asked again.

"Have you, James Vance, every been a teenager?"

"I mean, I'm only 17 years old. I'm still a teenager." he replied nervously.

"What do you like to do?" Harry asked him.

"Sir?"

"In your free time, what do you like to do?"

"I play Quidditch, hang out with my friends, talk to girls, I guess."

"Girls? Do you have a girlfriend?" Harry asked. James slowly nodded.

"Do you know how old I was when your mother died?" Harry asked harshly, suddenly changing his demeanor back to the angry man he had been moments before.

"No."

"I wasn't quite 16 years old. As a 15 year old, what were your main responsibilities?"

"Cleaning, schoolwork, those kinds of things."

"Do you know what mine were?" Harry growled.

"No."

"Saving the world from the most powerful wizard of all time."

With that, Harry spun on the spot and returned to his desk, leaving a stunned James Vance to stare into space. He sat there for nearly 15 seconds before Wallace was able to convince him to get up and go back to his seat. Once James Vance was seated, the next witness was called. While this wasn't a very joyous occasion, Hermione thought that one plus had to be that they were moving things very quickly.

The next witness was Christopher Brown, father of Lavender Brown and previous outburster in the court. He was an older man with greying hair and fierce brown eyes. He slowly walked to the witness stand, eyeing Harry the entire time. Harry never looked up once.

"Mr. Brown, your daughter was killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, correct?"

"Yes." she replied sharply. "She was mangled and murdered by Fenrir Greyback."

"When exactly did your daughter die?" Wallace asked, starting to lead Mr. Brown.

"May 11."

"May 11?" he asked in feigned disbelief. "You cannot mean that she died 9 days after the Battle?"

"She was left on the floor of the Great Hall, bloodied, chewed and broken. When we found her, she was mostly dead as she was. We took her to St. Mungo's and they did everything they could but the bleeding just couldn't be stopped. She died early in the morning for the 11th."

Wallace, who had waited for Mr. Brown to finish, stepped forward, ready to fire again.

"Christopher, was your daughter in an organization known as Dumbledore's Army?"

"She was." he replied firmly.

"Can you explain to me what the "DA" was about?" Wallace asked.

"Dumbledore's Army was a club formed by Harry Potter during his fifth year. Its purpose was to help students learn defense spells when the Ministry was not allowing them to use practical magic in class." he answered slowly.

"Seems like a good idea, does it not?"

"It does. I supported her decision to be in it at the time."

"Why then if you trusted Mr. Potter to teach your daughter do you blame him now?" Wallace asked, getting to the point of the issue.

"For two reasons. First, if Potter had trained my daughter better, she may have been able to survive." he answered first in part.

Suddenly, Harry jumped up. This statement, a knock on his ability to lead, obviously offended him.

"You can't blame me for your daughter's inability to defend herself!" Harry screamed at the man.

"I can when you were supposed to be responsible for it!" Mr. Brown replied.

Suddenly, a blast echoed through the courtroom silencing everyone. Hermione looked up to see Griselda standing with her wand in the air, a look of rage on her face.

"Mr. Potter, you will hold your tongue." she ordered sternly.

"My apologies." Harry said as he sat down.

That outburst was probably the worst thing that could have happened to him. Now, it made him seem unstable and unable to control himself. It would make him much easier to blame for the things that had gone wrong.

"Continue." Wallace said to Christopher when the courtroom settled in again.

"The second reason is that the only reason she was there is because she was part of that organization. If she had not been part of that organization, she would have done the smart thing and run away!"

"Objection!" Harry shouted. "That is highly speculative, Miss Marchbacks."

"I agree." Griselda said before turning to Wallace. "Control your client and your questioning."

David Wallace simply smiled and turned back to the court: "Your turn, Potter."

Harry stood up and quickly marched towards Christopher Brown. He quickly got within inches of him and began his interrogation.

"How old was Lavender when she died?"

"What does that matter?" Brown replied, growling back at him.

"Answer the question, Mr. Brown, unless you enjoy Azkaban." Harry replied with an evil smile.

"Your Honor!" David Wallace yelled from his table.

"Mr. Potter, watch your tone. Mr. Brown, answer the damn question." Griselda order as she rolled her eyes.

"What was the question again?" Mr. Brown snarled.

"How old was your daughter when she died?" Harry replied simply.

"Two days shy of her 18th birthday."

"So she was an adult."

"Yes."

"That means that she is responsible for herself that point. That she is definitively able to make her own choices. Is that correct?"

Mr. Brown appeared to understand why Harry was viewed as one of the best interrogators in the Auror Office. He was even more brutal when there weren't this many people watching.

"Yes."

"Do you know what Lavender's attendance record was for DA meetings?"

"How would I know that, Mr. Potter?" Christopher asked harshly.

"It was simply a question." Harry answered innocently. "However, I do know the answer. During our fifth year, when the DA was active, we had 30 meetings. The average member attended 27 of those meetings with a large percentage of the group attending 29 or 30 meetings. Would you like to know how many Lavender attended?"

The courtroom was silent as they waited for Harry's answer. Obviously, Christopher Brown did not want to hear. Unfortunately for him, Harry was about to tell him.

"16 meetings. Barely over half of the meeting times. During the meetings that she did attend, Lavender showed great improvement. However, her devotion to her training was not good enough and therefore, she did not learn everything that she was supposed to learn. Maybe, if she had shown up more, she wouldn't have died."

Harry turned around and marched back to his table as Mr. Brown jumped from his chair, launching himself towards Harry. Suddenly, Harry turned around and cast a silent Cutting Curse that hit Mr. Brown directly in the leg, causing him to drop the ground in agony.

"That, Mr. Brown, was a Cutting Curse." Harry informed the wounded man. "We learned that in the DA. However, my records indicate that your daughter wasn't there that day. She wouldn't have known how to block it either."

The medics that had been nearby raced into the room and pulled Mr. Brown to the side of the room and began examining his injuries. Hermione knew that there wouldn't be any lasting damage. Harry would never be that rash.

"Our final witness is Susan Bones."

This is the one that Hermione had been dreading. Someone as well respected as Susan Bones represented by someone who Harry knew very well. This was a nightmare situation and it could be the one that put the nail in Harry's coffin if he didn't play his cards right.

Susan calmly took her seat, avoiding Harry's eyes entirely.

"Ms. Bones, how were you related to Amelia Bones?"

"Amelia was my aunt." Susan answered simply.

Hermione could see Harry was already struggling with Susan. Susan worked in the Auror Office as well. She had started a year after Harry and had become a trainer. The two talked often and there were even some who suggested that a possible romance could happen if Harry ever got over letting Ginny go. However, with this, that could never happen. Harry would never forgive Susan for something like this.

"Your aunt? How did she die?"

"She was killed by Lord Voldemort himself in her pantry."

"How do you know who she was killed by?" Mr. Wallace asked.

Hermione thought it was a strange question to ask. No one knew exactly who had killed Amelia Bones and there had been no witnesses. This seemed like a question Harry would have asked.

"Because I saw him do it."

Suddenly, the courtroom was into a state of complete shock. Griselda had to fire her wand numerous times in order to the court.

"How did you see him do it?" Mr. Wallace pressed.

"I was outside her home, picking vegetables for dinner. It was a tradition of ours. Suddenly, I heard a pop and I turned and saw him. He was pale as a ghost with a snake-like nose and red eyes. Instantly, I ducked down onto the ground, hoping that the rows of corn in Amelia's yard would give me cover. Suddenly, I heard an explosion and then a series of blasts. This went on for several minutes. Then, nothing. When I got up, I searched the house and found nothing. Suddenly, I had a sudden urge to check the pantry and that's where I found her dead body."

"That is truly horrible." Wallace said with a pity that may or may not have been fake. "Why are you here today? Do you want money?"

"No." Susan said softly.

"Then why testify against Harry Potter?" Wallace replied with a sneer.

"Because my family needs something. My uncle and cousins lost nearly all of their financial support when my aunt was killed. While my uncle has been working two jobs, they still aren't able to make enough money to support themselves. They need help. I don't want any of the money. I feel awful being here."

"Nothing further." Wallace replied, a victorious grin on his face.

Hermione watched as Harry took a deep breath before standing up and approaching Susan. Hermione knew how much this was going to hurt Harry to do this but if he didn't, there was a chance he could lose everything.

"Susan, I'm sorry for your aunt." Harry said softly.

"I know, Harry. I don't blame you."

"Then why are you here?" Harry asked her. This wasn't an interrogation. This was a public confessional between two people who had become very good friends over the course of the last year and a half.

"I'm here because my family needs help." Susan replied.

"And my money is the only way they can get it?" Harry asked.

"Harry, the war may not have been your fault and my aunt's death may not have been your fault. But someone has to help those people that lost everything in the war. You have more money than most wizards and certainly you could spare some of it."

Harry turned away abruptly as he thought of an answer.

"Do you know how much The Families Organization is asking for?"

"40,000 Galleons per party." Susan answer matter-of-factly.

"Correct. Do you know how many parties they represent?"

"50, I believe."

"50 parties for 40,000 Galleons. That's 2,000,000 Galleons. That's more money than George Weasley has."

"Someone has to pay it, Harry."

"Some people could pay it. We could have a fundraiser or a benefit. I could do speaks for charity. Do you know how much I'm worth?" Harry pleaded.

Hermione could sense that Harry was getting desperate. He had stopped asking questions about her aunt and had started asking about the money. Everyone knew that if Harry didn't prove much of anything, he was going to lose. Since he hadn't been overly successful in wooing the people in the courtroom, he was now metaphorically begging. It wasn't that Harry wanted to keep his money. It was that again he would be blamed. But this time, it would cost him everything. He would have to empty his vaults, sell his homes and move in with a friend because it would be months before he could support himself again.

Harry had once even jokingly said that he would be forced to return to the cupboard under the stairs at the Dursley's.

At least Hermione thought she had been kidding.

"I'm worth just a little under 1,000,000 Galleons. If they win, I'll be left with nothing." Harry said, tears of frustration rolling down his face. "Even if you believe that I'm wrong, why would you support them knowing that they are going to make me broke?"

"Because my family has no other options...and I would do anything for my family."

"That...I can respect." Harry said as he took his seat.

* * *

After a fifteen minute break, it was Harry's turn. He would keep it brief. He wasn't going to call any witnesses. He was simply going to talk to the court about his experience. If he succeeded, fantastic. If not, he couldn't say that it wasn't what he expected.

"People die in war." Harry started. "That's what we were in: a war. A war with an army that didn't play by the rules and didn't care who got in the way."

Harry stood in the middle of the court and simply addressed the crowd. Over the years, he had turned into a fantastic public speak, something he would desperately need today.

"People got in the way and they died and that is horrible. My heart goes out to each and every one of those people and their families. Now, was I an important part of that war? Yes. Could I have done things differently that may have ended things differently? Possibly. Does that make me responsible for their deaths?"

Suddenly, Harry stopped and looked directly at Hermione. He knew that she was there and he wanted to speak directly to her for a moment.

"No." Harry bellowed. "No, it does not. Despite what the recent court ruling may suggest, I did not kill every single person who died during the war. In fact, I only was directly responsible for the death of one person: Lord Voldemort, the one person everyone wanted me to kill."

"Now, I understand that because people got in the way and died, there are those who are upset. However, I cannot be held responsible for the deaths of every single person who died. If you find me responsible, you are ignoring the fact that there were hundreds of Aurors and Ministry workers who were responsible for your safety that let you down."

With that, Harry turned back to his table and took a seat. He only hoped that what he had said in his brief message would be enough to sway them.

* * *

**October 4, 1999**

Two days later, the court had finally made their decision. It was the longest decision in the history of Wizarding England.

Everyone had taken their original places and waited for the verdict. Hermione sat nervous at the edge of the room while she watched Harry who fiddled nervously with the papers in front of him.

Suddenly, Griselda Marchbanks entered the room, marching at a pace that shouldn't have been possible considering her age. As she waved everyone down from their standing position, she spoke.

"Normally, a case like this would have been thrown out on the spot. However, due to the previous decision of the Wizengamot in the case against Harry Potter, I felt that it was something that needed to be heard."

Hermione couldn't breath. She just sat there and prayed to something.

"Mr. Potter, it is unfortunate that the previous court's decision work against you. In a normal case where no precedent had been set, I believe that you would have had to pay a minor fee to the families and that would have been it. However..."

With that, Hermione knew that it was over. She continued to hold her breath through Marchbanks' words.

"However, the combination of evidence heard here and the prior case set means that we do find you, Harry James Potter, liable for the deaths of the Battle of Hogwarts. The fee of 2,000,000 dollars is to be paid to the Families Organization to be dispersed."

The echo of the cheers from the accusers table rang out over the image of Harry sinking into his chair. He appeared to be sobbing into his hand, knowing what this verdict meant. He would be in debt for the rest of his life.

"However, Mr. Potter, your words on the responsibility of the Ministry were correct. Therefore, the Ministry will pay 1,000,001 Galleons of that fee to the Familes Organization, leaving you to pay the remaining 999,999. We thank you all for your time and have a good day."

* * *

**February 7, 2004**

"Why didn't we help him more?" Hermione asked.

"We tried." Arthur replied. "But they took everything from him."

Hermione sat in silence for a moment as she finished reflecting on the trial and the lawsuit. How horrible everything had been to Harry that he had ended up running, unable to face the world.

"Hermione, I need you to come home. Leave Ms. Chang there to watch Harry."

"Why?" Hermione asked in disappointment and shock.

"There are reports that The Jester has been sighted in country. We need you back here."

"Alright. I'll leave in the morning." Hermione replied softly.

"Tell Cho she needs to bring Harry back." Arthur ordered. "I'm going to do some work on that."

"What work?"

"Well, I can tell you that it rhymes with executive action."


	9. IX

**March 4, 2004**

**6:40 PM**

**Barrow, AK**

Harry wasn't sure that his shield would hold up much longer. Tonight, nearly one month after beginning to train with Noah, Noah decided that he wasn't going to hold back. The man was incredibly powerful and did a great job of simulating the legendary pace of The Jester. For the last hour, Noah had been blasting him with enormous combinations of different spells and Harry, who was incredibly out of practice, was having trouble keeping up.

In Harry's mind, he still wasn't sure why he was training. Hermione had only made that brief appearance and Cho had been gone for a week. Harry was starting to wonder if they hadn't given up on him. If they had, then there was absolutely no way he was going back anytime soon. However, it was whenever Cho came back to his house and started talking to him that things changed.

The day before Cho had left, she had nearly convinced Harry. He still wasn't sure why. She had been telling him about how things had changed so much in the Ministry. Apparently, after Harry took off, they began to realize some of the corruption that was still going on and got rid of a few key people who had had a lot of input over the years like Cornelius Fudge. She said that Kingsley had completely gutted the Wizengamot and only a few people remained.

But it was the news that the Minister of Magic was now an elected position and that Arthur Weasley had won the election that really pushed Harry towards the edge. Harry couldn't imagine someone doing a better job at managing everything that comes with being Minister as the man with 7 children.

"Push yourself, Potter!" Noah yelled as he continued to fire curse after curse.

Yet, Harry was able to block every one of the other man's attacks. However, he was certainly tiring out, despite the fact that he was in the best shape of his life. He needed to move things quickly. That would be the key to defeating The Jester if he ever decided to go home.

Harry deflected a nasty Cutting Curse and then began to press back. With his spell that he blocked, he took a step forward. The blasts got more powerful as he got closer but they still were to the point where he could deflect them.

Once he was within a few feet of Noah, he made his move. Just as he saw Noah getting ready to fire, Harry dropped to the ground and leveled his wand towards the man's chest

_"Stupefy!"_

Instantly, the blast hit Noah in the chest and threw him backwards. He flew several feet in the air before flopping onto the ground, obviously unconscious. Harry got up from the ground and with a wave of his wand woke Noah up.

"Very good." he said as he stood up. "I never trained her to defend anything like that. Make sure you have some other surprises for her too. Keep her on her toes and everything will be fine."

"I'm still not sure why we're out in the freezing cold training to fight someone who I will probably never face." Harry replied.

"Because, even if you don't go home, she'll come for you." Noah replied sinisterly.

"Why?"

"Because the world knows of Harry Potter. If she truly wants the amount of power she appears to crave, she'll have to kill you to do it."

"Great." Harry replied sullenly as they started the walk back to town.

The pair had been training a few miles out of town for the past month. They had decided that they needed to go somewhere where no one would see them and three miles out into the frozen tundra was probably the best answer. So, they packed themselves into Harry's pickup truck that he had learned to drive when he came to Alaska and drove out of town every other day.

"Decided whether you're going back yet?" Noah asked as they got into the truck.

"No." Harry replied shortly. "I want to. I miss being there. But, I can't help but be afraid that it will be nothing but the same."

"Get some reassurance that it won't."

"How?" Harry asked.

"Tell them you want your job back and that you need reparations for what's been done to you." Noah answered.

"Well, I'm fairly certain that they don't take drunken Aurors back."

After the investigation and the lawsuit, Harry had gone into a rather steep downward spiral. While Ron and Hermione's wedding stuck out as a bright spot during that period, other things stuck out that drove Harry into the ground. First, it was the news that Ginny had thrown herself off of the roof of the Burrow in an attempt to end her life. Thankfully, she was unsuccessful but that, coupled with a pair of terrible cases at work, drove Harry to try the same.

So, Harry had called off sick for work the next morning and started drinking at 9AM. At 5, Harry sent an owl to Gawain Robards, telling him he was taking the next day off as well. Then, Harry went to a hotel in London where he knew no one would find him.

For three straight days, Harry had a bottle in his hand. He would have been successful had he not decided in his drunken stupor to go wandering down the streets of London. Out in the open, someone recognized him and called Ron and Hermione. They had picked up Harry outside of Buckingham Palace where he had been trying to attack the guards.

When news of Harry's drunken escapades hit the paper, Harry knew that he was done. Robards called him into his office the next day and told him to clean out his office. He was publicly chastised by Kingsley, who sent a letter to him apologizing but also saying that he had to do it. Harry didn't blame Kingsley. He knew that after everything that Harry had been involved in during the previous ten months that Harry had to be let go.

What Kingsley didn't realize was that by forcing Harry out of the Auror Office, he was giving Harry permission to run away and never return.

"They would take you back." Noah answered softly as they pulled into town. "Especially right now. Even if they thought you were dangerous (and you aren't), they would be willing to put up with it in order to get rid of Azoli."

"But that's just it." Harry shot back. "I don't want to be the weapon that they need. I want them to want _me _back."

"I think that for the people that weren't close to you, you'll always be their weapon." Noah replied. "But, do you think that your friends want you back?"

"What friends? You mean the people that abandoned me?"

"Harry, you heard what Cho said about Hermione."

"Hermione is the cleverest person I've ever met. I refuse to believe that someone like Amos Diggory could control her." Harry raged as they parked the car.

The two quickly got out and marched up Harry's stairs and into his house. Once they removed the frozen outer layer of clothing and changed into something warmer, they settled into the living room to continue their conversation.

"Who says she wasn't just controlled by herself?" Noah asked.

"If she was controlled by herself, she wouldn't have acted how she did." Harry snarled.

"Maybe. But, you said that Hermione has a very honorable personality. Would she have considered lying breaking that?"

"Yes." Harry admitted. "But she should have considered ratting me out as a worse offense to whatever honor she thinks she keeps."

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"What if, in her mind, publicly telling the truth was actually more valuable to her than protecting you?"

For the first time in five years, someone said something about Hermione that actually made him think. Had he been being selfish all these years, blaming her for bailing on him when in actuality, it was possible that she was just maintaining her morals? The thought horrified Harry. He had felt so justified in hating Hermione that the thought only made him want to throw up.

"Makes you think, doesn't it?" Noah said.

"It does." Harry admitted. "So what you're saying, without knowing Hermione at all, is that her telling the truth was more important to her because it reinforced her own morals and that I should have seen that and rather than been angry that she ratted me out, I should have been proud that she valued her own morals so highly as to risk our friendship."

"Yup."

"That sounds insane." Harry said with a chuckle. "It also sounds like something the 14-year old version of me would have done."

"Why fourteen and not nineteen?" Noah asked.

"Because at age fourteen, I watched Cedric Diggory die at the hands of a Death Eater. That changed everything for me. Maybe I would have done it at fifteen. That's when my godfather was killed. But 16 would have been it. Watching Dumbledore die was one of the hardest things I had ever done. At that time, I thought that my quest to defeat Lord Voldemort was tied to him and he was gone."

"So, you're saying that you abandoned your friends after that?"

"No." Harry replied sharply. "I'm saying I became harder, less forgiving and more willing to fight my own friends. It's what made the "camping trip" so hard. We fought all the time. I knew that I was right. While in the past, I may have let Hermione convince me otherwise, this time I didn't. I was so convinced I was right and I fought her and Ron and everyone else tooth and nail."

Suddenly, Noah started to chuckle.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You were right, weren't you?" he asked.

"Yes." Harry replied as he rolled his eyes. "But that's not the point. Really from Dumbledore's death forward, something in me changed. I got a little edgier, a little more willing to light someone up if they disagreed with me. Then, during the battle with Voldemort, even though I knew that the Elder Wand was mine and that all it would take was a simple attack to cause the curse to rebound, I desperately wanted to kill him."

"Harry Potter's never killed anyone." Noah replied with a grin. "Isn't that the defense your supporters always used?"

"Yes." Harry replied sullenly. "I wish they wouldn't have. Because more than anything in the world, I wanted to level my wand and fire the curse that I knew would end his life."

"What does this have to do with Hermione?" Noah asked. "I'm confused as to how we even got to this point."

"It has everything to do with her!" Harry shouted as he stood up and began pacing in the living room. "Something about me changed. I lost my youth. I lost my innocence. Somewhere, I lost my ability to focus on people other than myself. If I had been paying attention to Hermione, then I would have known that she was doing the same thing that I would have done. Instead, I blamed her for the world."

"Then what are you going to do?" Noah asked calmly.

"I'm not sure." Harry admitted. "The fact that everyone was so easily convinced by Amos Diggory that everything was my fault upset me."

"But..." Noah added, knowing that Harry was not finished.

"But, I've abandoned my family. When Ginny needed help, I wasn't there. When Ron and Hermione were having problems, I wasn't there."

"So you're going back?"

"Eventually." Harry admitted. "Even if I become a recluse like I am here, I want to be able to do it with the people that were there for me. The Weasleys never gave up on me. Not after I broke up with Ginny and not after I was convicted of all those things. Even after all that, they supported me."

"The Wizarding World is in for a shock, aren't they?"

"You bet." Harry replied with a grin. "I can try and forgive Hermione. After all I put her through over the years, she deserved better. I never asked her about it and I never wanted to hear anything on the matter. Now that I think about it, I never once heard her side of the story."

"What about the court?" Noah asked.

"Well, I would never want to take the money back from the Family Organization. They did need it as much as it really blew that they took it all from me. No, I've got another plan."

"Like what?"

"Well, Arthur Weasley is Minister of Magic now. I'll go to him and tell him that I'll hunt and capture The Jester for a fee." Harry replied with a sly look in his eyes.

"What kind of fee?" Noah asked, although Harry was certain that he already knew the answer.

"999,999 Galleons."

"999,999 Galleons?" a voice from behind Harry said.

Harry quickly turned around to see Cho Chang standing in his doorway.

"Yes. What about it?" Harry asked her.

"So you would only be doing it for money?" she accused.

"The money is not necessarily the important part. It is what it symbolizes."

"What does it symbolize?" Cho replied mockingly.

"That the Ministry of Magic would realize what they did to me was wrong and that they are seeking to fix it. Personally, I would take half of it if they could guarantee me a job at the Auror Office or teaching Defense at Hogwarts." Harry replied.

Suddenly, the look in Cho's eyes shifted from one of accusal and pain to one of hope.

"You'll really come back?" she asked.

"I think so." Harry said softly, fearing the words that he had told himself that he would never say again.

"When?"

"When he's ready." Noah replied sharply. "If he's going home, he needs to be able to take on The Jester without my help."

"Come back with me." Harry replied to Noah as he turned back to him. "Why can't we continue my training there?"

"Firstly, because I live on the mainland. Second, because I don't want to be put myself in her path."

"So, you want me to be in the way instead?" Harry mused.

"Yes." Noah said simply. "You could beat her. I can't."

Harry thought about this for a second. For a month, this man had been thrashing him around the frozen tundra. However, for some reason, he was supposed to believe that while the man that had been throwing him around would get beaten, he would win.

"How can you say that?" Harry asked.

"Because your ability to think outside the box will make it impossible for her to to guess what you would do ahead of time. Plus, you are trained to fight her. She's not trained to fight you like she is to fight me."

"Well that does make a little more sense."

Harry sat down on the couch and immediately dove into his thoughts. In Alaska, things were simple. No one knew who he was and no one knew what he had done. Here he was able to hide from the world and simply live his life. If he went home, he would be required to face everyone. Facing the Weasleys wouldn't be difficult. Even facing Hermione wouldn't be awful, having already done it a month ago.

It would be facing Amos Diggory and Draco Malfoy and the people that had opposed him that would be the ones that were difficult to face. He knew that when he left, he was admitting that the world had gotten to him. At the time, he never thought he would go home. Now that he was faced with possibility that he may have to be back, he would have to face all those people that forced him away.

But, in the end, it was his relationship with Hermione that he needed to fix. As Harry had gotten older and matured, Harry had slowly realized something. Something that he wouldn't allow himself to admit until the people of his past started showing up in his present. Harry had realized that the only reason he had been upset at Hermione was because of everything else that had gone on in his life. He forgave Ron for everything that he had ever done to him, including abandoning them during the hunt for Horcruxes.

Meanwhile, Hermione had never abandoned him and only when under oath did she even blame him for anything. Although, as Harry thought about it, did she even say anything that would be considered blame? Over the whole search for the Horcruxes, did Harry really believe that they had done everything perfect? Hermione had pointed out one potential flaw in the whole course of things.

Was Hermione to blame at all?

"Earth to Harry." Cho said as she sat down next to him.

"Sorry, thinking." Harry muttered, mostly to himself.

"I noticed." Cho replied with a smile. "Care to share?"

"The war wasn't my fault. I shouldn't have been blamed for those deaths. I know that and that's all that matters."

"I'm happy for you, Harry."

"Thanks." Harry said absentmindedly. "I think I'm going to wait a few days before going back home. I really need to wrap my head around the fact that I'm going back. Why am I going back?"

"Because you miss it."

"I do." Harry admitted. "I really do. But, do I owe them anything?"

"There's no reason that you have to do it to go do anything. You can go back and not help at all." Cho replied, subtly placing a hand on Harry's. He found it immensely comforting.

"That's true. But, if I go back, they'll expect me to help."

"Do you want to, Harry? What do you want to do?"

Suddenly, that question invaded Harry's mind. What did he really want to do? Why was he going home? Harry spent moments thinking about it before he answered.

"I want to go home because it's my home and I shouldn't be forced to live away from it. I will want to help because I am simply defending my home and my friends. To hell with the rest of the world."

"That's the spirit."

* * *

**March 6, 2004**

**Barrow, AK**

Over the next two days, Harry trained with Noah, perfecting his technique against the older man. They worked for hours on end, sometimes in Harry's home or sometimes miles out of town. Cho typically followed them out there, although Harry could tell that she was miserable due to the intense cold.

Realistically, a Muggle would only survive for an hour, maybe two, in this cold. However, the magic inside a wizard made him slightly more resistant to the elements. Therefore, Harry and Noah were able to be out in the cold for three or four hours without any horrible consequences.

Finally, Harry put Noah on his back for the fifth time that day and both of them decided that they were done.

"You'll beat her." Noah said as Harry helped him back to his feet.

"I hope so." Harry replied softly. "I have been in a real duel for a long time."

"You will be fine." Noah repeated as they got into the car and drove back into town. "You going to the Festival?"

"Yeah." Harry said softly. "I'm planning on heading home tomorrow morning. I figured what better way to say goodbye to Barrow than the Fest."

"I figured you would say that." Noah said with a chuckle. "Always the sentimental type, aren't ya?"

"A bit." Harry said as he pulled into his driveway, probably for the last time.

"What's the Festival?" Cho asked curiously.

"Well, Ms. Chang, The Sunshine Festival is an event held in town every year." Harry started with a smile. "Now, since Noah moved here this year, I'm not exactly sure how he knew about it."

"Any opportunity for a drink, that's what I always say!"

"I should have expected that. Anyway, the festival is held to celebrate the return of the Sun. While the sun may have come back towards the end of January, we don't have more sun than moon until right about this time of year. Hence, the Sunshine Festival."

"Sounds fun." Cho replied.

"It is." Harry admitted. "But really, unless you're into the Eskimo Games, basically like a Triwizard Tournament but without all the magic and death, you just go to the bar and have a few drinks."

"Yeah we do!" Noah joined in.

Harry, Cho and Noah got out of the car and after running into their respective homes quickly to change, they met back by Harry's truck and walked towards the only bar in town.

As they entered the bar, they saw the festivities were well under way. The three of them went to bar to grab their drinks before finding a place in the corner of the bar to sit.

"So, Harry, what are you going to do when you get back?" Cho asked him.

"Cho, I have no idea." Harry said with a chuckle. "I know that there will be some people that I need to see."

"Hermione." Cho replied. It wasn't a question.

"She's probably on the top of my list. No one else really burned me personally. But, part of me feels like with how I treated her afterwards, I owe her a bit of an apology too."

"You keep saying about how you treated her afterwards. What the hell did you do to her?" Cho asked.

"Well, firstly, I know for a fact that I never gave her the opportunity to explain herself. That's one. But, one night after Ginny jumped and I was trying to drink myself away, Hermione came over to try and stop me. I was really drunk but for some reason, this memory rings out clear as day. I know that I spent several minutes just screaming at her, calling her all sorts of horrible names and swearing at her and shit like that. Then, I tried to curse her but the most I could do was set her robes on fire."

"Holy shit." Noah said as he nearly spit out his beer. "You set her robes on fire?"

"Yeah. Not my best moment. I left Britain two days later. I hadn't seen her again until a month ago when she showed up here."

"Have you forgiven her?" Cho asked.

"I think so." Harry replied. "I just don't want to be angry anymore. I am 23 years old. I want to live my life. I just hope she doesn't curse me into oblivion."

"She won't." Cho answered. "She's missed you too much. We all have."

Harry smiled at Cho as his mind began to race a mile a second. He knew that he wanted to go home. That wasn't a question anymore. But, would he be welcomed back? Or would those that he turned his back on remember that and banish him back to the frozen tundra? Harry had only been angry back then, unable to come up with another emotion. He had aged some and matured a lot more over the past four years and hoped that would show when he went back.

The three of them sat in the bar until very late in the night, talking about everything. Harry's return home got brought up every hour or so but it was never something dark or frightening. Instead, it became bright and encouraging. The thought of going home radiated from Harry and lifted the spirits of the two around him. Harry and Noah took part in a few drinking games that were a Sunshine Festival tradition and by the time they were ready to leave, they were glad they had walked to the bar because driving was distinctly out of the question.

The three friends stumbled home and Harry invited Noah to simply stay with him rather than try and figure out how to walk around the fence that surrounded his back yard. Once Harry was certain that Cho and Noah were comfortable, he dragged himself up the stairs for the last time and into his room.

Harry was in the midst of changing into clothes for bed when he suddenly felt like he was being watched.

"You could almost sneak up on me." Harry said softly. "You're good."

Harry slowly turned around, wand in hand, to see exactly who he expected. A beautiful woman with silky blonde hair and stunning blue eyes was standing, dressed in black, in the corner of his bedroom. She had painted her face to look like a clown, although Harry was able to see straight through that.

Azoli Vinogradoff.

The Jester.

"Greetings, Mr. Potter. I am here to kill you."


	10. X

**March 7, 2004**

**3:13 AM**

"Greetings, Mr. Potter. I am here to kill you."

Despite her efforts, Harry could hear the Russian accent masked under her attempts to get rid of it.

"That's unfortunate." Harry replied with a cheap smile. "I really can't have you doing that. You see, I have dinner plans tomorrow night and I know that-"

"Stop your squabbling, Potter." Azoli roared. For being as beautiful as she was, her voice was rougher than the tail of that Hungarian Horntail that Harry had flown around his fourth year.

"Squabbling?" Harry asked mockingly. "What the hell is squabbling?"

"That is not important. What is important is that I have caught you unaware and unprepared. Now is the time to kill you." she growled.

"Unaware?" Harry asked as he raised his wand. "I could feel you watching me and I still have my wand in my hand. How is that unaware?"

"You will see." she said softly. "Now, should I kill you first or should I go downstairs and kill one of your guests?"

Harry knew from Noah's training exactly what she was doing. Her M.O. was to get you to attack first and then counter with an overwhelming barrage of attacks. Harry wasn't falling for it.

"Go for it." Harry bluffed. "I could stop you before you even got down the stairs."

"Really?" Azoli said before turning in place.

Harry had just moments notice before he turned as well and landed square in the middle of his living room, wand extended towards the Russian witch who had just landed before him.

"Very good, Potter." she said smoothly.

Harry looked around the room and noticed Cho and Noah looking up at him. He had been in the middle of getting dressed for bed when Azoli had interrupted him and so all he was wearing was a pair of pajama pants and socks. Not exactly the most threatening of battle attire. Harry couldn't help but notice that Cho's eyes were fixed squarely on his abs. Normally, Harry would have smiled. However, now wasn't the time for that.

"Get out of my house." Harry whispered menacingly.

"Make me."

"Harry..." Noah said warningly behind him.

"I know."

Finally, Azoli's eyes fixed firmly on Noah's face. Her eyes and face showed no emotion. If she was surprised to see him or knew that he was here, she would not tell them. She stared at him for several moments before looking back at Harry.

"Has he trained you well?" she asked mockingly.

"Yes." Harry replied simply.

"We shall see."

"I don't think so." Harry replied. "You see, you don't attack first. Neither do I. Therefore, no one will get attacked and you will leave in frustration."

"Is that what Noah told you?" Azoli shot back. "Noah hasn't seen me in five years. How the hell would he know anything about how I battle?"

"Because he trained you."

Suddenly, Azoli did her best Jester impersonation, laughing at an insanely high pitch. Harry could tell that this laugh was felt down to the tips of her toes. This laugh was for pandering or mocking, she was truly enjoying herself.

"He trained me? He formed me, Potter. He taught me the basics. Lord Voldemort _trained _me. He taught me things that would make your hair curl." Azoli said, reminding Harry of Rita Skeeter talking about Ludo Bagman.

Everyone had their secrets.

"Well, congratulations." Harry said. "I'm glad that your master was so well trained that he was able to beat a 17 year old wizard."

The joke wasn't lost on Azoli. Neither was her wand. Harry's incessant joking must have upset her because suddenly, her wand was up and firing.

If Harry hadn't been trained to defend from this, he would have been overwhelmed from the beginning. For what seemed like hours, Harry threw up shield after shield with no room to counter her attack. Harry's living room wasn't nearly big enough for this kind of warfare and Harry knew that he needed to change the scenery a bit. So, instead of using a normal Shield charm to block her attacks, Harry silently cast an Exploding Curse and then jumped back from her.

Sure enough, the combination of spells caused an explosion that rocked the house throwing all four of the houses inhabitants flying. Harry felt himself launched backwards through the kitchen and up against the back door, bending it in the process. As Harry stood up, he took note of his surroundings. Noah had been thrown from the room out the largest bay window. Cho laid on the stairs, coughing up blood but seemingly okay.

The Jester had been thrown through the wall in the front of the house and was in the process of climbing back inside. Harry quickly cast a Secrecy Shroud over his whole house. Now, all of the noises and images that would occur during this duel would be blocked from outside view assuming that no one was thrown outside of the bubble.

The distance that Harry had created between the two of them was perfect. They now stood nearly twenty feet apart and Harry could begin his strategy now. Leveling his wand at his opponent, Harry fired. As he knew would happen, The Jester dove, avoiding the attack. But this time, Harry was ready.

When Azoli stood up, Harry began to use her own strategy against her, firing an unsustainable pace of curses and hexes. Harry could see the look on her face and it was definitely one of worry. She had to be confused as to how he could duel with her so well despite having been out of the game for so long.

Harry was wondering the same thing. Rarely did one of Harry's dueling strategies go right and Harry figured that after years of decay in his dueling form, that this one was due to go wrong any moment.

Little did Harry know how right he was. After sending three Stunners back-to-back-to-back, Azoli stepped out of the way, leveling her wand. However, when Harry went to fire, she turned and Apparated away. Harry felt her appear behind him and turned to defend himself. However, he was too late. She blasted him directly in the back, sending him flying.

Harry flew through one of the outer walls of the house, landing in the snow outside. As Harry took a look at his surroundings, he was glad to see that he had not broken through the Shroud. Harry rolled over, knowing that standing up would take too long.

He was glad he did. Just as he rolled over, a Killing Curse smashed into the ground where he had been. The Jester came to the place where he had been thrown out and fired again. This time, Harry took another page out of her book and Apparated. However, this time he didn't Apparate just once because when she saw him disappear, she immediately turned around, waiting for his attack. Instead, once Harry landed, he Apparated again, landing in the place she had been when she had been attacking him outside.

_"Incendio!" _Harry yelled as a jet of flames rushed towards his opponents.

She managed to duck out of the way almost in time. However, the arms of the robe on her right side still caught fire. As she worked to put them out, Harry fired again. Even though she had been putting the fire out, she still had the awareness to raise her wand and block herself. This surprised Harry and the reflected spells forced him to the ground.

As he fell, his wand fell away and landed several inches from him. Harry moved to grab it when someone stepped on his arm. Harry looked up helplessly as The Jester looked down on him, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"The great Harry Potter, dead at last."

"I hope not." Harry said defiant to the end.

"Oh but it is." she replied as she aimed her wand just at Harry's chest.

As Harry heard those deadly words, he felt a rush into the room and suddenly the pressure from his arm was released. He looked up to see Noah, struggling with her. Harry rolled over quickly to get his wand and stood up to defend his friend.

Just as he did so, Noah was thrown back from Azoli. She aimed her wand and fired.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

Nothing Harry could have done would have stopped it in time. Harry watched in horror as the curse collided with Noah's chest, blowing him backwards into the wall behind him and then letting him crumple on the floor.

Suddenly, Harry felt a fire burn up from his hear. Instantly, Harry leveled his wand and fired at Azoli. The Russian witch was caught completely off guard and was blasted off her feet and through two walls, landing outside in the yard.

Harry rushed after her, standing in the hole in the wall like she had over him. Harry watched her stand up, favoring his right leg. She turned around to Harry.

"You win this round, Potter. But now you don't have that pathetic wizard to train you anymore." she roared, both in anger and pain, before turning in place and Apparating away into the night.

Harry stood in awe for a moment over what had just happened. He had actually come out on top. Suddenly, he remembered why he had come out on top and raced back to the living room. Sure enough, Cho and Noah's body remained.

Harry raced over to Noah's body, flipping him over. He checked his pulse, knowing what he would find. Nothing. Tears settled in as he realized what had just happened. The one friend that Harry had made outside of London had been killed. One of the many reasons he had left England was to protect his friends. Now, he understood how pointless that had been. He couldn't protect anyone.

"D-d-don't y-you dare blame y-yourself, H-h-harry Potter."

Harry turned to the stairs to see Cho Chang. She was pretty badly bruised and burned from the explosion and had a large cut across her shoulder. However, more than anything, she looked terrified.

"How is it not my fault, Cho?" Harry asked as he raced to get a blanket to cover her up. Harry had just noticed that with all of the holes in the house, the brisk air of the Alaskan winter/spring was rushing in.

"He died saving you. He died so you could save all of us. Use it as motivation i-if you need to. B-but don't blame yourself." Cho said as the blanket that Harry threw onto her seemed to warm her up instantly.

"I'll try." Harry said before noticing that things were getting very warm. He turned around and saw that a small fire was climbing the wall.

"Are you going to put that out?" Cho asked nervously.

"No. It will be much easier to explain my disappearance if they think I'm dead. I'm going to take the Shroud off and then Apparate us to the bar where we can Floo back to London."

"No we can't. International Floo into England is nearly illegal now. Only in preapproved and extreme circumstances is that possible."

"Great." Harry replied glumly. "Do you need medical attention?"

Cho simply nodded her head slowly in reply.

"Is there somewhere in the US we can go?" Harry asked her as the fire climbed higher.

"Wizards' General in NYC. We can Floo to my apartment and then I can Apparate there so they'll never see you. When I get out, I'll owl you and we can fly home on a muggle plane. There's no way they'll know you're coming then."

"Perfect." Harry replied as he waved his wand, removing the Shroud from around his house. "Let's get out of here."

Slowly, he bent down and picked Cho up off the stairs and with a turn, they were gone and on their way back home.

* * *

**March 10, 2004**

**6:33 PM**

The Weasley family had been having a weekly dinner on Wednesday nights ever since the end of the Second Wizarding War. Originally, it was done to honor Fred's death. However, it had been continued as simply a way to get the family together each week. If you were available, you came.

The only time the dinners disappeared was for about a month after Molly was admitted into St. Mungo's. However, on one of her more lucid days, she scolded her husband for not having them and they were immediately back the next week.

During Hermione and Ron's separation, Hermione had stopped coming to the meals. However, with her and Ron doing their best to try and make things work between the two of them, she started to show up, even though she was only living at home on the weekends. Her flat in the city was much closer to the Ministry than the home she and Ron shared and with Hermione's workload, she simply found it easier to go there instead of all the way home where Ron would bombard her about her day. At her flat, no one would bother her and she would be able to get some sleep.

Tonight, most of the family was there. Arthur cooked the meal as always and even though it would never be as good as Molly had done, he was definitely getting better. Hermione and Ron were there with Ginny and Dean Thomas, her boyfriend. Percy was there with George and Angelina, his recently married wife. Bill and Fleur lived in Egypt and Charlie was still out of the country.

"So, Hermione, how goes the work with the Frenchman?" Arthur asked from the head of the table. Hermione was sure that, being Minister of Magic, he knew exactly how it was going. But, Hermione indulged him anway.

"He won't talk." she replied sullenly. "And there hasn't been a sighting of the Jester in nearly two months."

"Scared away by all the Aurors." Ron said with a wink.

"Doubtful." Ginny said with a grin. "At least not by Ronald Weasley."

"Whatever." Ron replied with a laugh.

"How are things with the Harpies?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"Fine." Ginny replied smugly. "Gwenog keeps jerking me around with my playing time. She's still upset that she hasn't been able to convince management to trade me to Chudley yet."

"Let her!" Ron pleaded. "Do you realize how unstoppable Chudley would be if you joined?"

"Do you realize that when Gwenog retires at the end of the season, I will be team captain." Ginny fired back. "If I join the Cannons, I have to compete with Viktor for that. I'm still not certain how they afforded him but that doesn't matter. I won't ever be team captain with him around."

"I imagine that the Cannons new co-owner probably had something to do with that." George Weasley, co-owner of the Chudley Cannons, said.

"Well obviously." Ron replied. "Krum wouldn't go there for what the other owner would want to pay him. How much did you offer him?"

"Double what his Romanian team was willing to offer. He turned it down. So we tripled it and he accepted." George replied with a grin.

Hermione blanked out as the conversation continued on with Quidditch. While she had learned to accept the sport as part of every day life for a wizard, she still didn't particularly care for it. So, Hermione started gathering the finished dishes around her and took them to the sink. As she washed the dishes, she looked out on the tree and the lake where Fred was buried. She could still remember all the time that Harry, Ron and Hermione spent out there.

Suddenly, she missed Harry all over again. It was almost as if she could see him out there, watching as the Weasleys swam.

Then, someone knocked on the door. Everyone looked around, curiously wondering who it could be. Bill and Fleur lived in Egypt permanently and Charlie was still in Romania for another year. Percy's fiancee, Penelope Clearwater, wasn't here but that's because she was working late that night at the Ministry.

"I'll get it." Ginny said as she stood from the table.

For some reason, Hermione followed Ginny to the door, unsure of what she would find. Then, as Ginny approached the door and opened it, Hermione knew why she had followed. As the door swung open, there stood Harry James Potter, the Boy Who Lived. She hadn't imagined him standing out there. He had been, probably looking at Fred's tombstone.

Hermione's eyes went from Harry to Ginny, who was standing in the doorway sputtering and choking on her breath.

"What's going on?" Dean said as he turned around and came face-to-face with Harry. "Oh my god."

Suddenly, the eyes of every person in the room shifted to the doorway. Hermione noticed that each person had a matching look of shock on their faces as they saw the face of the man they thought had left them forever.

"Hi everyone." Harry said softly.

As he spoke, Ginny burst into tears and rushed forward, nearly tackling him in one of the biggest hugs Hermione had ever seen. Everyone instantly stood from their places at the table and hurried over to the door to greet Harry.

It took several minutes for everyone to get through and hug Harry before everyone finally settled down. They all took their seats around Harry who sat in between Hermione and Ron in the living room.

For the next half hour or so, everyone spent their time informing Harry about all of the things that he had missed over the years. Hermione watched Harry and noticed that his smile seemed real. However, she also noticed something else. Everyone else in the room was looked at. Everyone but her.

He still hadn't forgiven her.

* * *

**March 10, 2004**

**7:47 PM**

After over an hour of storytelling and such, things got more serious. Arthur looked at Harry seriously.

"Why did you come back?"

Harry had been afraid of this question ever since he had walked in the door.

"I came back because I knew that I needed to try again. I had been so angry for so long that I had forgotten really why I was angry. Things happened that I couldn't let go of, that I still haven't let go of. I am going to try to though."

Harry knew that Hermione would have noticed that he hadn't been able to look at her yet. While he was glad to see all of the rest of them, he still wasn't able to look at her without wanting to do more than set her robes on fire. But, he knew that he wanted to forgive her and that was a start.

"Arthur, may I speak with you and Hermione outside?"

"Certainly." Arthur said as he stood up and lead them to the front porch. Once they were there, he turned back to Harry. "What is it?"

"I am also here to help with your...situation." Harry said softly.

"Oh, Harry, that's wonde-"

"With a few stipulations." Harry said coldly.

"Alright." Arthur replied, noticing the chill in Harry's voice.

"First, the Ministry of Magic will go on record and say that they disagree with both rulings and that while no money will be asked back, both rulings have been overturned."

"Harr-"

"Second, the Ministry of Magic will pay reparations to me to the tune of 999,998 Galleons."

"Why that much?" Hermione asked.

"Because I am more forgiving than the Ministry is and so I am forgiving them for one Galleon." Harry replied roughly.

"H-"

"Finally, I will be appointed as a special consultant on the case. I will not in any way be a subordinate to Gawain Robards or anyone other than The Minister of Magic. As such, I will not be forced to abide by any rules that an employee of the Ministry will face. Also, any laws that I may or may not break during the course of this investigation will be ignored under the rules of diplomatic immunity."

"Harry, I don't th-"

"Arthur, these are my stipulations. If any of these cannot be met, I will not help you. I will be back in the country and I will defend myself if I am attacked but without these reparations, I will go no farther."

"Harry!" Hermione shouted. "What makes you think you can do this to us?"

"What makes me think that I can do this to you?" Harry asked in disgust. "Try being told that a war, an entire war, was your fault; that because of this the death of every single person on your side of the war legally was your fault; being removed from your job after one bad night when the man who is in charge of the Aurors is a walking drunk exploit himself. Then, after deciding to leave, having a good friend killed, another badly injured and your house burned to the ground by the witch that YOU, Hermione Weasley, are supposed to be looking for!"

"Harry..."

"You need me." Harry said blankly. "I want to come home and I want to help. However, I will not do it until things have been made right."

"Harry, we will do what we can." Arthur replied, obviously seeking to calm things down. "The two trial verdicts should be easy. As Minister, I have the power to pardon people. Pardoning you for the first one will effectively pardon you for the second. The money simply needs to be approved by the Ministry's treasurer. He works for me and so that shouldn't be a problem. The last one is going to be the most problematic."

"Why?" Harry said roughly.

"Because I think it's illegal to simply give you free reign, knowing that you plan to break some laws."

"Just claim me as an ambassador of the Ministry assigned to this case." Harry growled. "That will be enough."

"I can do that." Arthur said. "But, in return, I'll need your support. This is going to be looked upon unfavorably."

"Arthur, I'm not upset at you and I imagine that you are doing a wonderful job as Minister. However, until you fix what Kingsley was too afraid to stop, I'm not helping with anything."

Arthur took Harry's words and stopped to think for a moment. Finally, Harry was able to turn to Hermione.

"I will be at your office in the morning to meet with Christoph." Harry said softly. "I will meet with you then. Arthur, I'll come to you afterwards. I will be Apparating everywhere tomorrow. No one is to know that I am back until all of the proper procedures have been arranged."

"I'm sure that everything will be worked out." Arthur said. "By the time you get to my office tomorrow, I should have your money to your vault and have all the paperwork for your new position written up for you to sign."

"That sounds fantastic." Harry said. "I will see the two of you tomorrow. Tell everyone I'm sorry for leaving so quickly but I'm tired from my trip back and I really want to rest."

"Where are you staying?" Hermione asked him.

"With Cho. She was moderately injured after The Jester attacked us. Plus, I don't have anywhere to live."

"That's not entirely true." Arthur said. "The Ministry still owns the deeds for 12 Grimmauld and Potter Manor. Once you have been absolved of your crimes, I can have the deeds transferred back to you."

"Thanks, Arthur. I appreciate that." Harry said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Harry turned around and looked into the night sky. He heard the door shut behind him and knew that once again he was alone. He still couldn't believe that he had actually come back. If Harry was honest with himself, it scared him a bit.

"Are you going to stay?"

Harry whipped around in place to see Ginny standing behind him. He saw the tears forming in her eyes and he knew that this could be a difficult conversation. However, if there was anyone that deserved it, it was Ginny.

"That is my plan." Harry replied simply.

"Good." Ginny said with a smile before letting silence take over. Both of them stood there for a couple moments before Harry spoke up.

"Listen, Gin, I have t-"

"I'm not happy with Dean."

"What?" Harry asked in shock.

"I mean that Dean is fine. Dean is a nice guy and he tries really hard to be everything for me. But the fact is that he isn't." she said saidly.

"Ginny..."

"Harry, I missed you so much." Ginny sobbed as tears flooded from her eyes. "Give me the word and he's gone."

Harry stepped up to Ginny and wrapped her up in his arms. He let her cry into his shoulder, comforting her as best he could. Finally, he stepped back and looked Ginny directly in the eyes.

"I love you, Ginny. I do. I love you like I love the rest of your family." Harry started before moving on to the bad news. "But I don't want to be in a relationship with you. Not right now. Who knows what could happen? I could be back a couple of years and change my mind. But honestly, I don't believe that will happen. Don't wait for me to make your life better. Find someone who makes you happy."

"You made me happy." Ginny said bluntly.

"I know."

Suddenly, Harry turned in place, leaving a teary Ginny holding onto nothing but air.

* * *

**March 10, 2004**

**10:04 PM**

"So how shocked were they?" Cho said as she sat down on the couch. Harry had been back for nearly an hour but Cho had been out taking care of some business and shopping now that they were back in London. Once she got back and was done putting everything away, she sat next to Harry and leaned on his shoulder.

"Pretty shocked." Harry said honestly. "Ron looked like he had seen a ghost."

"How did Ginny react?"

"She basically asked me if I was back for her."

"I'm certain she missed you." Cho said softly as she burrowed herself closer to Harry.

"Yeah." Harry replied. "I know she did. I missed her too. But not more than I missed any of the rest of them."

"I'm sure that she'll find someone to get her mind off of the great Harry Potter."

"I hope so." Harry said with a sly grin.

"So did you ask them?" Cho asked, changing the subject abruptly. Harry had told her what he was going to ask them for on the plane ride over to London.

"Yeah." Harry answered. "It wasn't pretty."

"Why?" Cho said as she began rubbing her eyes.

"I told them what I wanted. Hermione got upset that I was even asking so I kind of lost it. I yelled at her a bit. Thankfully, Arthur has a cooler head than either of us and was able to calm us down."

"That's good. So you're going to be wealthy Harry Potter again. That's good. Can you buy me a new apartment as a finder's fee?"

"Shouldn't they buy you that new apartment?" Harry said with a smile.

"True." she said as she groggily stood up. "What time are you going to work tomorrow?"

"I'll go meet with Hermione at 8, do the interrogation and then meet with Arthur at 10 hopefully. Why?"

"Well, I have yet to decide whether I want to go back to the States or stay here and find a new job." Cho replied as she stretched up to the ceiling.

"I think you should stay here." Harry said softly. "You're the only person I trust all of the time right now."

"Well that's sweet." Cho said as she leaned down and kissed Harry on the top of the head. "Fine. I'll go in with you tomorrow and find another job."

"Good idea."

"Alright, I'm going to bed." Cho said. "You can either stay out here or join me."

"Join you?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"It's nothing like that, Potter." Cho chided. "My couch isn't even big enough for you and my bed is enormous. I am offering you the other half of my bed."

Harry considered this for a moment. She was right about the couch. Harry stood at nearly six feet tall and her couch was barely five. He would either have to curl up on that or sleep on the floor. However, Harry was nervous about sharing a bed with someone like Cho, fearful of something that he might do. He had been without any friendly contact of any kind for so long that he was afraid that he may do something he would regret when faced with a semi-dressed Cho in the same bed as him.

"Fine." Harry replied stubbornly.

Harry stood up and followed Cho back to her room. What Harry saw was very surprising. Harry had expected her room to be very girly, clad in pink and purple. Then, Harry remembered that Cho wasn't Parvati Patil. Instead, her room was nearly all blue, the same blue that was the color of Ravenclaw House. Harry saw that there were pictures all over the room but one picture instantly drew his attention.

It was a picture of Cho and Cedric from the Yule Ball during Harry's fourth year. They looked so happy. Suddenly, Harry realized how much the world around him had changed since then. He had exchanged one problem for another. Voldemort for court cases. It was rather astonishing.

"That's one of my favorite pictures." Cho said softly as she came up behind Harry.

"I'm sorry things happened the way they did." Harry replied. "The two of you should have had longer together."

"We were never a couple, you know." Cho said informatively as she turned around and crawled into bed.

"Really?" Harry asked in shock.

"Really. He asked me to the dance and he asked me out later, but I turned him down. He was one of my best friends in the world but I never wanted to date him."

"Oh." Harry said awkwardly.

"Plus, there was some scrawny fourth year that I was interested in." Cho replied as Harry finally climbed into the other side of the bed.

"I'm make sure to tell Ron the next time I see him." Harry joked, relishing in the fact that he would actually be able to tell his friend anything.

"You know it wasn't Weasley."

"I know." Harry answered. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

"What needs lightening?"

"I dunno. The whole thing between us was a mess. I just hate that that had to happen to you."

"Harry, that was years ago. Forget it." Cho replied as she burrowed herself in under the covers. "Good night, Harry."

"Night, Cho."

* * *

**March 11, 2004**

**6:44 AM**

Harry woke up in an unfamiliar environment. He looked around, doing his best to see where he was without his glasses. Suddenly, it all came back to him. He was in Cho's apartment, more specifically Cho's bed.

That was when Harry became distinctly aware of a few facts. First, both Harry and Cho had shifted towards the center of the bed, seeking each other for warmth in the chilly spring morning. Second, Harry had taken his jeans off just before he had jumped into bed, leaving him wearing just his underwear. Finally and most shocking, Cho had done the same thing.

Any other twenty-four year old would have been jumping up and down at the opportunity to do this with someone as beautiful as Cho Chang. However, Harry was not a normal twenty-four year old. Due to hiding in the corners of the world for four years and being relatively sexually stunted during his youth because of Lord Voldemort's presence in his life, Harry was as inexperienced with women as one could be while being twenty-four years old.

Just as Harry started to slowly roll over and remove himself from the situation, Cho grumbled into her pillow.

"Don't you dare move a muscle." she said softly.

"Ahhhh, Cho." Harry said nervously. "Do you realize what just happened?"

"Yes. You are warmer than any blanket I've ever had and I'm freezing. I swear to everything holy that I will hex you into next week if you get up."

Now Harry was left in a horrible position. Should he ignore her and get up anyway? Should he tell her how uncomfortable he was with the whole thing and hope that she lets him get up? Or should he just suck it up and share body heat with the beautiful woman in front of him?

Suddenly, Cho turned around to face him.

"Don't freak out. It's not a big deal. We weren't even awake."

"I'm not freaking out." Harry lied.

"You are very much freaking out." Cho replied accusingly.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what to do." Harry admitted. "I'm not exactly the most experienced guy in the world."

"Well then it's a good thing that we aren't having sex or anything like that." Cho said as she kissed him on the forehead before hopping out of bed. "You're cute. Now, I would suggest you get in the shower if you want to be to the Ministry on time."

"Why?"

"Well, I have a tendency to take really long showers and I wouldn't want you to be held up by me."

"Thanks."

* * *

**7:57 AM**

"You ready?" Harry shouted to the bathroom door Cho was hiding behind.

"Almost." she called back as he heard the sink's water. Suddenly, Harry heard the sink stop running and the door in front of him opened. Cho was dressed in a stylish yet simple black dress with her hair pulled back. She looked stunning yet ready for a day at work.

"Is her office where the Head of her Department's was when I was here?" Harry asked her.

"The same one." Cho confirmed as she finished putting two small golden hoop earrings into her ears. Once she was done, she made her way back to towards Harry.

Harry took Cho by the hand and before she could have known what happened, Harry turned and Apparated into Hermione's office.

Hermione didn't even bother to look up from the work she had been doing, simply choosing to address them vocally.

"Morning." she said.

"Morning." the two answered in unison.

Suddenly, Hermione looked up, shocked to see both of them there.

"Hello, Cho. I didn't expect to see you here this morning."

"Yeah, I'm going to go see Arthur. I'm resigning as American Ambassador." Cho informed her. "Speaking of which, do you know of any available openings?"

"Not yet." Hermione replied. "But, if I see something, I'll Owl you."

"Perfect." Cho said before turning to Harry. "I'll see you later."

"Alright." Harry replied.

As Cho walked out the door, Harry turned back and made his way to Hermione's desk, taking a seat in one of the chairs placed across from her. Hermione went back to her work, obviously doing everything she could to ignore Harry.

"What's that all about?" Hermione asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You and Cho is what I mean." Hermione replied, looking at him again.

"Cho and I are nothing." Harry replied honestly. "She brought me back and I don't have anywhere to live yet so I'm living with her for right now. She needed to come in as well so we came in together."

"OK, Harry. I was just curious because I talked to Ginny after you left last night."

"Great." Harry groaned. "What did she say?"

"She said she was glad that you told her what you did. Especially telling her that you loved her."

"I do." Harry answered. "I always will. Hopefully, we can get back to being good friends again. I love her like I love all of them."

"Them?"

"The Weasleys." Harry answered, not sure what Hermione was getting at.

"You do know what my last name is, right, Harry?"

Now Harry understood what she was getting at. Them, that's what he had said. He hadn't said _you _which would have included her.

"Yes, Hermione, I do know what your last name is."

"Good." Hermione replied. "Now, what did you mean by that?"

"Hermione, I didn't mean anything by it. You and Ron were only married a few months before I took off. It's still strange to think of you as a Weasley."

"I am, Harry." she shot back softly. "I am a Weasley. It hurts me to think that you don't love me like you do them. I was your best friend."

"Hermione, we've been over this." Harry said in annoyance. "You know why I'm upset."

"I do." Hermione admitted. "I wanted to apologize to you for that, by the way."

"Cho tried to do it for you." Harry replied. "Said something about Amos Diggory brainwashing you."

"Not exactly." Hermione replied with a chuckle. "No, more like I brainwashed myself. I was so concerned with making sure that I did everything by the books that I wasn't watching the man in charge."

"You were the only one." Harry shot back roughly. "While Amos didn't really do anything illegal, it was fairly obvious why he wanted to sit on that committee."

"Well, it is obvious now. That's part of the reason Arthur is going to be able to overturn your decisions. Basically, he will say that it was the influence of Amos Diggory that got you convicted."

"That's great, Hermione." Harry replied snidely. "That doesn't change what you said."

"It doesn't." Hermione admitted. "However, what I said had nothing to do with how we dealt with things. All I was doing was an analysis of what happened. After the fact, I wish we had involved the Order more. That doesn't mean that I disagree with how we did things. I'm simply saying that if we could go back and do it again, we would change some things that we did."

"We would." Harry admitted. "I'm just confused. Why couldn't you tell me that you were going to tell them that? You knew what it could mean for me both publicly and personally."

"I didn't tell you...I don't have a good reason for why I didn't tell you, Harry. I guess I didn't think that it would be that big of a deal."

Harry stood up and walked to the door.

"It was."

"I know."

"Let's go talk to The Frenchman."

* * *

As the door shut behind Harry, a sense of amazing familiarity passed over him. He was back in his interrogation room with a suspect in front of him. After everything that had happened, it was as if he had never left.

Now, while most people only used this as a simple interrogation room, Harry knew better. He had built these rooms himself and he knew all of the magical back doors to get people to talk.

Thankfully, Hermione had been able to convince the security staff that Harry could take his wand with him into the room. This would allow him to get to The Frenchman quicker.

Sitting in front of him was what was left of The Frenchman. His hair was long and matted and he had to have been starving himself.

"Bruno. How are you doing today?" Harry asked him.

Suddenly, the man came to life. His head flipped up and his eyes tried to burn a hole through Harry's forehead.

"Potter. I didn't think they would be able to find you."

"Neither did I." Harry said jokingly. "So, how about telling me everything you know about The Jester and who she works for?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, Azoli attacked me at my home in Alaska and I must say that I was not particularly impressed by her. Therefore, whatever you freaks are planning, she has to be getting orders from someone else. Otherwise, this is going to be very easy for me."

"Azoli doesn't work for anyone!"

Harry chuckled, knowing that this would be his response.

"Listen, Bruno, this is how this is going to work. You're going to tell me everything you know about her and who she works for. Otherwise, things are going to get really ugly for you quickly."

"You can't intimidate me. You cannot get me in here." he replied defiantly.

"You may think so. But, do you want to know who built these rooms? Do you know who designed them?"

"No."

"I did." Harry growled as he waved his wand.

Suddenly, all of the lights in the room went out. Another wave of his wand and the lights began to flash at random increments. Harry Apparated himself around the room at random. This combined with the flashing lights gave the appearance of him being everywhere at once. Harry knew for a fact that it was terrifying.

"Tell me." Harry ordered softly.

"No!"

Again, Harry began waving his wand. This time, he conjured imaginary animals. Snakes, bats, scorpions and a random assortment of creepy creatures launched themselves at The Frenchman. In his mind, these were all totally real. However, Harry didn't yet have the heart to tell them that they were fake.

"Now, what about that information?" Harry asked again calmly.

"Never!"

"Fine. We can keep doing this!" Harry shouted with a faked maniacal glee.

For the third time, Harry began waving his wand. This time, however, he was sending actual curses at the barrier between the two of them. Between the lights and the creepy crawlers and the curses, The Frenchman began crying in fear.

"No! NO! NOOOO!"

"TELL ME!" Harry screamed. "TELL ME EVERYTHING!"

"No!"

Then, Harry used his greatest trick. When Harry had created the barrier, he made it with one small hole in the back of it. All he could do was stick his hand through it. No spells would be able to get through. However, Harry knew that if you thought you were protected and then someone grabbed you from behind, you would be terrified. He had never had to use it before.

Harry raced around to the back of the barrier and reached through the open hole. He grabbed the back of The Frenchman's shirt and pulled him up against the barrier.

"You tell me or you go to jail for the rest of your life! You tell me or I have you executed tomorrow!"

"OK!" The Frenchman screamed in terror.

Instantly, Harry let go and with a wave of his wand, every illusion that he had created was gone. Harry stepped around to the front of The Frenchman and proceeded forward.

"Who does she work for?"

"She never told me." he replied, tears still streaming down his face. "She only called it The Network. Various people around the world were supposed to have been apart of it."

"Did she know anyone else that was a member?"

"No." he replied as he shook his head. "You only knew your direct superior until you got up to a certain point within the organization. I think she was close though."

"Good. This will help a lot." Harry replied. "At the worst, you'll spend the rest of your life in jail. But now, there may be a possibility of you getting out."

Instantly, Harry turned around and exited the room. Hermione and Ron were waiting for him in viewing room.

"Harry, there's no way he'll get out." Ron said softly.

"He doesn't need to know that." Harry replied. "Now we have the information we need. We need to look into these two further. See if there's anything from their personal lives that could give us more information on The Network."

"I'll get some people on it." Hermione said.

"Yeah you will." Harry replied. "I'm going to do it."

"But we need you here, mate." Ron shot back.

"I'm needed wherever I can find information on how to stop The Jester and how to prevent this organization from doing whatever it is they want to do." Harry replied. "Now, I need to go meet with Arthur."

* * *

"I have good news, Harry."

"Great." Harry said as he took his seat across from Arthur. "What is it?"

"The Prophet will run a statement from me tomorrow evening. In it, I will outline my reasons for absolving you of your crimes."

"That's great." Harry replied. "I really appreciate that."

"It's nothing, Harry." Arthur said before continuing. "I've been able to name you a Special Investigator and Ambassador. This will give you the diplomatic immunity that you wanted. The only person you will answer to is me. Finally, tomorrow morning, Gringotts will receive a 999,999 Galleon deposit for your vault."

Arthur had done everything he had asked for. He had to admit that he was shocked that it could be done.

"Your office is right down the hall from here. There is only one problem with that."

"What is that?"

"Due to some magic of the Ministry building that we cannot change, you cannot Apparate directly into that office and there is no Floo there."

"So you're telling me that I have to come in the main entrances." Harry said softly. Everyone was going to know soon.

"You can Apparate here as long as I'm here. However, I tend to be in and out of my office all day. If you try to Apparate here and I'm not in, you will be bounced to the Atrium."

"Well, I can't hide forever." Harry said. "Plus, I imagine everyone will guess why you pardoned me now."

"I imagine they will." Arthur replied. "Now, Harry, I don't mean to kick you out, but I have a meeting with the Chinese Department of Magical Law Enforcement Head in three minutes and I really need to prepare."

"Not a problem." Harry said as he stood up and made his way to the door.

"It's good to have you back." Arthur said as Harry opened the door.

"It's nice to be back." Harry replied before leaving the office and walking out in the world again.


	11. XI

**A/N: Again, reviews are always appreciated. I really do like to hear from everyone and I can already say that two or three reviews have changed parts of this story. Your opinion makes a difference!**

**Also, you should read my other Harry Potter series, which I plan on finishing off soon! The link here is for The Hammer of Thor, the fourth and final entry in the series. These stories start at the very beginning of my FanFiction writing and therefore, the earlier ones tend to be a bit weak but I really still like them. Please read them and let me know what you think!**

s/7642063/1/Mjolnir_Harry_Potter_and_the_Hammer_of_Thor

(For whatever reason, it won't let me put the full link in. Therefore, if you put / in front of the link above, you'll be able to get to it.)

* * *

**March 12, 2004**

**8:13 AM**

**The Atrium**

Two days after his meeting with Arthur, Harry decided he was no longer hiding from the world. So, he walked right in the front entrance. After he got through security, he marched straight through The Atrium towards his office. The Daily Prophet had run the letter from Arthur the night before and so Harry had a sneaking suspicion that everyone would be on the lookout for him.

He was right. Just as he got about halfway through The Atrium, he started hearing shouts.

"Harry! Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter! Harry!"

Harry turned to see a small wave of international reporters flocking towards him. Harry stopped in place, knowing that he would have to do this eventually. He turned back to the reporters and gathered himself.

"Good morning, everyone. I thought I would see you here."

"Mr. Potter, Jean Hanson for Wizards' News New York, where have you been for all these years?"

"I've spent most of the last few years living quietly in various towns in North America. For the last 18 months or so, I've had a permanent residence in Barrow, AK."

"Mr. Potter, Justin Hoffman, Daily Prophet, what are you doing back?"

"As a favor to the Minister, I have been assigned as a Special Investigator into The Jester. Hopefully, we will be able to find her and stop her very soon. Now, I do have to get going, I can take one more question."

"Harry, what have you been up to with Cho Chang since you got back?"

Harry looked to the back of the crowd to see the identity of the one who asked the question was none other than Parvati Patil standing there, quill in hand.

"Parvati, good to see you." Harry said with a grin. "Due to some previous circumstances, I don't have a place to live just yet and so I've been staying with Cho until I get on my feet. Now, I must really be on my way. Thanks for your time everyone."

Harry waited until the crowd dispersed a little before calling out.

"Parvati!"

Instantly, she turned around and walked back to Harry. She looked fantastic, dressed in a canary yellow dress with matching heels covered in a purple cloak. It was definitely a good look for her.

"Parvati, you look amazing." Harry said, suddenly enjoying himself. "How have you been?"

"Oh, you know." she said shortly with a giggle very reminiscent of the ones that used to echo through the Gryffindor Common Room.

"I don't know if anyone has told you, but I don't actually know. Something about hiding from the world." Harry grinned.

"Right." she said softly. "Well, I'm working part-time as a gossip columnist for The Prophet which means that for me, your return is a godsend. Then, I'm also interning with the Department of International Cooperation."

"Very nice. Any men in your life?" Harry asked.

"Yes, actually. Michael and I have been married for just over a year now."

"Michael? Do I know him?"

"Michael Corner. My name is Parvati Patil-Corner now." Parvati said surprisingly.

"Wow! Michael Corner? No way." Harry said in shock. "Well, I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Harry. You should come by some time."

"I may have to consider it but for right now, I have to go to work."

"Go save the world again, Harry." she said as she turned on the spot and walked out.

As Harry finished watching her go, he turned and walked to his office. What he found there was astounding.

"Cho? What are you doing here?" Harry asked as he saw his current temporary roommate sitting at his desk.

"Well, I didn't have a job and so Hermione had spent the last day or so looking for something for someone of my qualifications."

"And?" Harry asked, not sure he was liking where this was going to go.

"I am now a Goodwill Ambassador to the World." Cho said excitedly. "That means that wherever you go on your search for her, I can go with you and get you access to files and things that you had never dreamed of."

Harry had been worried that something like this was going to happen. Hermione and Arthur had to be worried that Harry was going to take off again. Therefore, they assigned him a partner, something they knew he would hate, in order to ensure that he would come back. It was aggravating and meddlesome from the both of them. However, he could also see the politics involved here and understand that if Harry took off, only a few days after promising the wizarding world that he was back, both Arthur and Hermione would probably lose their jobs.

Plus, the fact that it was Cho definitely made it better.

"Fine." Harry said begrudgingly. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning. Early. We will be taking brooms. Part of me is very worried that Azoli still has some connection to the Russian Ministry. If we show up unannounced, then they wouldn't have time to warn her."

"You really are paranoid aren't you?" Cho asked him.

"You have no idea." Harry replied as he took the seat at his desk.

"What happens when we get there and they give us everything?" Cho asked. "It is possible that they want her gone as much as we do."

"I know." Harry replied honestly. "If that happens, then we can Floo back."

"Would you ever admit you were wrong?"

"Not likely." Harry answered her. "What kind of broom do you fly?"

"Your model."

"Great." Harry grumbled.

After the lawsuit, Harry had done everything he could have done to stay solvent. That included commissioning a biography that he didn't want written and sponsoring a new broom that he didn't really believe in. The Nimbus Company, makers of his first broom, called him and asked him to sponsor their new broom, which would be renamed after him. When they told him they would pay him 30,000 Galleons, he simply asked where to sign.

The only problem with all of this was the quality of the broom. They wouldn't allow Harry to ride the broom before he signed the contract, something that should have been a warning to Harry. However, 30,000 Galleons overrode that warning signal. But, when he finally did get a change to fly it, he was sorely disappointed. The top speed was significantly slower than his Firebolt had been and he noticed that it tended to fishtail out of tight turns. However, the most disappointing aspect was that in a steep dive, it started to vibrate uncontrollably. When he talked to the broommakers about it, they said it was a safety feature to keep young, inexperienced fliers from trying something they can't do.

Harry internally thought that they had a Seeker sponsoring a broom made for Keepers.

What really burned Harry is that two months after the Nimbus HP came out, Firebolt Inc. came out with a stunning new broom. When Ron bought one with his Auror salary, Harry took it out for a test flight. The Lightning Bolt, as their broom was called, was phenomenal with a faster top speed, better banking and the smoothest ride Harry could remember.

In disgust and drunkenness, Harry tore up his contract with Nimbus and was forced to return 24,000 Galleons. Harry did so gladly. He always told himself that unless Firebolt came calling, he was done sponsoring brooms.

At this point in time, the Nimbus HP was a collectors item because so few of them were actually made. Only 500 were made worldwide in the two months they were on the market. Cho Chang apparently had a thing for collector items.

"What? I like the broom." Cho replied.

"Yeah, because you flew a Cleansweep and then that." Harry replied. "If you'd flown a Firebolt, you would have never touched that thing."

"Well what are you getting?" Cho asked.

"Well, I believe that Firebolt just put out a new broom, right?"

"Yeah, The Thunderbolt."

"That's what I'm getting." Harry replied.

"That broom cost 12,000 Galleons!" Cho replied. "That's one month's salary!"

"Yeah. But if you just got nearly one million Galleons, you can afford it." Harry said with a smile.

* * *

**8:43 PM**

As Harry was finally closing up in his office, long after Cho had gone home, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." Harry replied curiously.

The door opened and Ron and Hermione stepped inside.

"Hey." Harry said softly.

"Mate, we're going to go out for some drinks." Ron said nervously. "Want to come?"

"Who else is coming?" Harry asked.

"No one." Hermione replied. "Just us."

Harry wasn't sure that he really wanted to spend any time alone with either Ron or Hermione right now, especially Hermione. While he was working on forgiving them for everything, he didn't want to feel pressured into doing so. However, he could tell that they were nervous just to ask him and Harry thought that it couldn't hurt to try just once.

"Where are we going?"

"There's a new place down on Oxford that Ginny and Dean went to last week. They said it's a fun place."

"Alright." Harry replied. "Can I meet you at the Cauldron in twenty minutes? I just want to finish up some stuff here."

"Sounds good, mate." Ron replied as he opened the door and escorted Hermione out.

The moment they were out, Harry stood up and began tidying up his desk. Once he was done with that, he stepped out into the hallway, locking the door behind him and then Apparating in one motion.

Moments later, Harry landed in Cho's living room. He noticed that she wasn't in the living room and so he began to wander around the apartment looking for her. Harry knew that the list of places she could be wasn't large. Her apartment was four rooms: living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. When he saw that she wasn't in the living room or kitchen, he made his way to the bedroom. Unfortunately, she wasn't there either.

That meant that she had either gone out and he wouldn't be able to find her or she was in the bathroom. So, Harry quickly strode across the room and knocked on the door. Sure enough, he heard a massive crash come from behind the door.

"What the hell? Who is it?" Cho screamed from behind the door.

"Who else would it be?" Harry chuckled.

"I'm not sure." Cho responded. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Last time I checked, I was inviting you to go to drinks with Ron and Hermione tonight."

Suddenly, Harry heard a ruckus and Cho opened the door just enough to stick her head out. Her hair was up in a towel and she appeared to only be wearing a fluffy purple robe.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Ron and Hermione wanted me to go out with them this evening. I don't want to go alone and so I wanted to know if you'll come with me." Harry said simply.

"Harry Potter, are you asking me out on a date?" Cho said with a grin.

"Sort of." Harry said softly. "I don't want to go by myself."

"Why me?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sure that there are plenty of people out there to ask. Why would you ask me?" Cho said as she opened the door and stepped directly in front of him. Suddenly, Harry noticed that her robe hardly covered any of her legs and he found it very difficult to concentrate on the question she had asked.

"In case you hadn't noticed," Harry said, refocusing himself. "I'm not exactly big into meeting lots of people that I don't know or spending time with people I don't know."

"I did notice." Cho said with a wry grin.

"So will you stop making a big deal about this and just come with me?" Harry asked in frustration.

"Of course." Cho said, chuckling. "Just let me finish getting ready and we'll be gone."

* * *

After twenty minutes of getting dressed and then another twenty minutes of consistently returning to her mirror to check her hair, Cho was finally ready. Harry quickly grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close, Apparating out of her apartment and into the Leaky Cauldron.

The moment they landed, Cho broke apart from Harry, giving him a dirty look.

"Harry, I have to say that I hate it when you do that." Cho said, referring to his recent trend of Apparating the two of them without warning.

"You'll get over it." Harry said as he turned to see Ron and Hermione in the corner booth. Seated next to them was Ginny and Dean. Harry really wasn't sure if he was ready for this and nearly turned to leave before he felt Cho grabbed his arm and pull him into a hug.

"You walk out that door and you're giving up on having a normal life." she whispered softly in his ear.

"Any chance I had for having a normal life walked out the door on Halloween two decades ago."

"Not true. You take down The Jester and whoever she is working for and it's all over." she replied. "You can retire back to wherever you want to. Maybe you can go play for the Cannons or something."

Harry pulled back and looked Cho directly in the eyes. Her eyes were a beautiful brown that Harry felt that he had never fully appreciated before. He pulled her back in and kissed her directly on the forehead before embracing her tightly.

Several moments passed before either of them let go. Harry looked directly at her again.

"That may have been the best thing that anyone has ever said to me." Harry said. "A lot of people have said that I shouldn't do what I do, that I shouldn't be so interested in saving people. However, none of them ever suggested anything other than being a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher or an Auror. It's nice to not be pegged into that hole."

"Not a problem, Harry." Cho said with a grin. "Now, we probably should go over to your friends."

"Probably." Harry said as he suddenly took Cho's hand in his and pulled her over towards the corner booth. As they approached, everyone at the table stood up.

"About time. Thought we were going to have to leave without you." Ron said as he slapped Harry on the back.

"Nah. I just had to wait for Cho to finish drying her hair for the thirteenth time." Harry said softly.

"It was only six and it was for a good reason!" Cho shot back.

"I know it was." Harry said with a smile.

"Now, let's get moving. It's a ten minute walk to the bar." Hermione said as she led the out of The Leaky Cauldron and onto the streets.

Harry waited for Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Dean to move passed them before he and Cho followed them out. As they marched down the streets, everyone else, including Cho, was involved in some kind of conversation. Meanwhile, Harry simply thought about all that had changed.

Ron and Hermione were married but struggling. Harry could see it. The spark was still there, but just barely. Harry knew that Hermione only lived at home on weekends right now. They needed to figure things out soon or Harry feared that they would go further down the road to divorce than they had the first time.

Just behind them was Dean and Ginny. Ginny had been right the other night. Harry noticed that Dean didn't seem particularly interested in being there and that he was paying more attention to the other women walking down the street than he was to his date.

Then, there was Harry and Cho. What were they? Harry definitely didn't feel like he would be ready for any kind of relationship but regardless of that, he could definitely feel that there was interest in both parties. She hadn't been a part of his life for so long and so she didn't remind him of the horrible things that had happened after the Battle of Hogwarts.

Also, she didn't seem to treat him like anything other than Harry. She wasn't afraid of him, didn't suck up to him and didn't particularly care if her opinion was different from his as long as she didn't intentionally offend him. The fact that earlier in the day she had basically said to him that he didn't have a choice and that she was coming with him reminded him of Hermione and Ron prior to the war, when he had told them he wasn't going back to Hogwarts.

Back when he noticed that his thinking had slowly shifted from all about Ginny to half Ginny-half Hermione. After Ron had left and Hermione had stuck with him, his appreciation for everything that she had done for him skyrocketed. Then, when everything had been over, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

As Ginny continued to treat him as someone to be glorified, Hermione had treated him exactly like she always had. For that reason alone, he broke up with Ginny, knowing that even if he couldn't be with Hermione, he couldn't be with someone who had treated him like she did.

Most of the reason that Harry felt as betrayed as he did about Hermione's testimony was necessarily what she said. It was the implication. Up to that point, Harry had twice left Grimmauld Place to tell Hermione to leave Ron to be with him. He was willing to give up everything, his friendship with Ron and the Weasleys, his job and his money to be with Hermione.

Both times, he had gotten to within two blocks of Hermione's apartment before turning back home.

Then, she betrayed him. Even though Harry had gotten over what she said, it was the fact that she said it that still had him burning up inside. It killed his love for her. Not only did not love her, he wasn't even sure that he liked her. As it was, being in her presence now was incredibly difficult. All he wanted to do was curse her and be angry with her.

But something in his heart, the part of him that loved her, keeps him in control.

"Harry?...Harry?"

Suddenly, Harry snapped out of his funk and noticed that Cho had been talking to him.

"Did you hear anything I said?"

All Harry could do was sadly shake his head. Suddenly, she stopped the two of them, just a block from the club they were going to.

"We'll catch up." she shouted to the other group before turning back to Harry. "What's wrong?"

"It's too much." Harry said sadly. "It's too much and too soon. Seeing everyone here, having a good time, acting like nothing's wrong. It's all too familiar to me."

"What do you mean?" Cho asked with a concerned look on her face.

"During the war, even before He came back, we had the Yule Ball. Then, you and I dated. Then, Ginny and I dated and Ron dated Lavender. We celebrated winning House points and Quidditch Cups."

"That's what people do, Harry. You have to learn to live with the bad by celebrating the good."

"No." Harry said softly. "We were just diluting ourselves into thinking we could avoid. I keep telling myself: _"We were kids. How could we have known any better?." _Then, I realize that we knew. We knew all along what was eventually going to happen. Yet, we looked passed it and did everything we could to ignore that it was going to happen."

"We had to, Harry. Otherwise, we would have gone insane."

"No. You could have. You could have ignored it and pretended that it wasn't going to happen. But I couldn't. I shouldn't have. All I wanted was a normal life. So, I dated, I played Quidditch. That's all we're doing right now: playing Quidditch. We're ignoring the fact that we should be out there stopping her."

"We aren't ignoring it." Cho replied defiantly. "All of us know that she's out there. But, we have to take a break sometime. Otherwise, we'll go mad."

"You may be able to take a break." Harry shot back. "The world hasn't rested on your shoulders since you were born."

"You're right." Cho answered softly. "But the world doesn't sit on your shoulders alone, Harry. There are others here that will help you. If you let us."

"Why would I let you? Every time someone helps me, they die."

"Ron and Hermione are still here."

"They got lucky." Harry muttered under his breath.

"No, Harry. They were protected by the best wizard in the world."

"Dumbledore wasn't there."

"No." Cho said quietly. "You were."

"Cho, you can't be serious. They nearly died numerous times because of me."

"And yet, they didn't because of you. You were there to protect them."

"Hermione kept us alive." Harry replied shortly. "I was useless. I couldn't think of anything other than the Hallows."

"You were right though. The Hallows were what you needed."

"Maybe I wouldn't have needed the Hallows if I had taken things more seriously." Harry said glumly.

"What do you mean?"

"We were all hiding from the truth. Even before the war, we had the Yule Ball. I dated you and then Ginny. Ron dated Lavender. Everyone dated everyone, not thinking about what was going on in the real world. Hogwarts kept us back. It kept us sheltered from the world and we relished the fact that we were hidden from it. What I should have done was leave school and go train on my own."

Cho seemed to be thinking about something. What she could be thinking about, Harry couldn't know. He knew that he was right. After all this time, he finally figured out what had been wrong and why Hogwarts had been the last place he had seen before he left the last time. It had been a sanctuary, protecting him from the world at large.

"It didn't keep _you _hidden." Cho replied.

"How can you say that? Voldemort was out there and I was inside, protected by hundreds of students and teachers and the one man that He was afraid of."

"Yes, but just because you were protected from Voldemort didn't mean that you were protected from danger."

"Of course I was!" Harry shouted.

"Really? How did you get the Sorcerer's Stone? Or get into the Chamber of Secrets?"

"I was protecting the school." Harry said shortly. "Simple as that."

Suddenly, Harry saw the look on Cho's face change. It went from a look of frustration to one of understanding.

"You weren't protecting the school."

"Of course I was! What else was I doing?"

"That's not what I mean." Cho said with a giggle. "Of course you were protecting the school but it wasn't just that. You were training."

"Excuse me?" Harry asked. Obviously she couldn't mean that.

"Who was the one person that always knew what was going on inside the school?"

"Mrs. Norris." Harry laughed.

"Well, other than her." Cho replied, rolling her eyes.

"Dumbledore, of course."

"Dumbledore. You mean to tell me that for a teacher that knew that you were a Horcrux and largely had everything figured out beforehand didn't know that the school was in danger?"

"Dumbledore always told me that he trusted people too much." Harry said softly. "Maybe he just always thought that things were going to get better."

"Harry, that's bull and you know it. He fought the Ministry because he knew that what they were doing was wrong and he knew that the world was going to get worse before it got better. That same man wouldn't know when a teacher wasn't who he said he was."

"Moody? That was fairly convincing." Harry said with a smile.

"Harry, I think that Dumbledore knew exactly what was going on and chose to do nothing. He knew about the Prophecy and he knew that without experience in dealing with life or death situations, you wouldn't have been able to deal with the world that you were going to have to save."

"Well then why couldn't he have been more obvious about it? If he was training me to be a soldier, why couldn't he have just told me? I would have walked into that Forest anyway!"

"Think about everyone around you, Harry. Would you have let them come with you, knowing what know now? You wouldn't have. You would have taken off into the night and never seen any of them again. There's only one problem with that. You needed them. You needed them in order to succeed."

"I did." Harry admitted. "I still do."

"Your friends are important to you, Harry. They always have been. Dumbledore knew that while you would be the one to destroy Voldemort, you would need help. So, he hid things from you. He allowed you to step into more dangerous situations than we can count because they would prepare you for the moment you needed to kill him. He was training you for six years for that one moment and he was training your friends for the one moment when they were needed most."

The thought that Dumbledore had known how much his friends would mean to him was both insane and incredibly plausible. He knew that he needed them and that without them, he would have failed everyone.

Suddenly, Harry grabbed Cho and pulled her into a hug. While she had only been back in his life for a few months, he felt that because of how much everything had changed, she was the one who knew him best.

"Thank you." he whispered in her ear. "You are right. I need this."

"I know you do." she replied softly as she let go.

Harry took her hand and they walked the rest of the way to the bar to join Harry's friends.

The friends that Dumbledore had trained to be there for him, no matter what.

* * *

**March 13, 2004**

**12:48 AM**

After several hours of sitting and socializing, Harry stepped out of the club to get some air. He had been having a good time that much was certain. However, he noticed the constant looks from Ginny towards both him and Cho and it was unnerving him. What was he supposed to do? He didn't want to simply play a fifth wheel to their car and he wanted to bring someone he was comfortable with. Right now, Cho was the only person that fit that description.

Harry heard the door open behind him and instantly spoke up.

"Listen, I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Mate, I just came out for some air." Dean said as he stepped up next to him.

"Oh." Harry replied shortly. He had definitely thought it was Ginny and he really did not want to talk to her. Not that Dean was his first choice either.

"Listen, Harry, I know I'll never compete with you, bu-"

"You shouldn't have to, Dean." Harry interrupted. "I don't want to be with Ginny anymore. It has nothing to do with her and everything to do with me. If you feel like you need to compete with me, then you need to talk to her."

Dean nodded his head slowly before turning around and heading back inside. Harry stood outside alone for a moment longer before the door opened again.

"Can I help you, Dean?"

"You can shut the hell up and come back inside."

Harry turned around to see Cho standing in the doorway. She was holding another full beer and appeared to be rather tipsy. Harry had never been much into drinking and was moving much slower than Cho had been.

"I think you need to go home." Harry replied with a grin.

"I think you need to shut the hell up and come back inside." Cho said as she attempted to step out into the street.

As she did, she tripped on the doorframe, slowly falling to the ground. Luckily, Harry dropped to his knees and caught her suddenly before she could hit the pavement.

"I think you need to go home." Harry said with a chuckle. "What do you think?"

"Probably." Cho slurred in reply.

Harry helped Cho to her feet before turning to one of the wizards who had been standing outside the all-wizard club, acting as security to ensure that no Muggles entered the magic club.

"Can you watch her for a second?" Harry asked. "I'm going to run inside and go grab her stuff."

"Sure." the guard said stoically.

Once he got the guard's confirmation, Harry tore the door open and ran back inside to the table in the far corner that his friends had occupied all night. As he approached the table, Harry noticed that Ginny and Dean were out on the dance floor. That certainly made saying goodbye easier. Ron and Hermione were seated at the table but they were deep in a conversation that Harry desperately wanted not to interrupt. However, in order to get Cho's stuff, she would have to.

Breathing deeply, Harry dove in and grabbed Cho's purse, grabbing Ron and Hermione's attention instantly.

"What's happening, mate?" Ron asked, breaking from his conversation with Hermione.

"Cho is falling all over the place outside." Harry laughed. "I'm going to call it a night and make sure she gets home safely."

"You sure? We can call a cab or The Knight Bus." Hermione asked.

"Yeah. We have to get up early tomorrow and fly to Moscow anyway."

"I can't believe you are going to fly to Moscow." Ron replied, shaking his head. "That's so far."

"Has to be done. There's really no other way."

"Sure there is. You could not be a paranoid maniac." Ron shot back with a drunken grin.

"That is true." Harry replied with one of the first real laughs he could remember since he got back. "I will see you when I get back."

"Bye." came the unison reply of the married couple as Harry turned and trekked back across the room and out the front door.

The moment Harry walked out the door, something jumped on him. It took Harry a few frightful moments to realize that the thing that had jumped on him was not a thing and had not jumped. Instead, it was thrown and it was Cho herself.

"Of course, the moment you take off inside, the lass here decides that she's going to pass out on me. Nearly knocked me to the ground, she did."

"I'll get her home. Thank again."

"Only did it because you're Harry Potter." he muttered as Harry Apparated out of sight.

* * *

**March 13, 2004**

**9:11 AM**

After dragging Cho through her apartment and throwing her into the bed, Harry had collapsed onto the other side of the bed and fallen asleep instantly. The next morning, when he woke up, he noticed that once again he and Cho had gravitated towards each other in the middle of the bed.

"Cho." Harry whispered softly.

"Uuuuhhhhhhh." she growled as she rolled over to the other side of the bed.

"Cho, we need to get up." Harry whispered again.

Suddenly, Cho rolled back over and nestled directly into Harry's chest.

"Cho." Harry growled slowly. "We need to get up."

"Harry Potter, if you yell one more time, I swear to Merlin-"

"I didn't yell, Cho." Harry replied. "You're just really hungover."

"I knew that." she said softly as she pressed herself against Harry. "You're so warm."

"I appreciate that." Harry said with a smile. "I really do appreciate that, but we need to get going."

"How long will it take us to get there?"

"Well, it's about 2,500 kilometers away. How fast does that piece of junk you fly go?"

"About 160 kilometers per hour." Cho replied. "And it's not a piece of junk."

"It's a piece of junk. And only 160? That's slow."

"Really? How fast does your broom fly?" Cho asked.

"Well, I went and got the Thunderbolt during lunch yesterday. So, 200 KMH." Harry shot back.

"Two hundred?" Cho asked in surprise. "That's insane."

"You're telling me. You're also probably glad that I bought you one too."

"What?"

"Well, I can't afford to buy you a new apartment so I'm offering you a place to live at Potter Manor when I finally get everything moved in and I bought you a Thunderbolt."

"Harry, that's too much." Cho replied. "Please take it back."

"Nope." Harry replied. "They're in the living room. We need to be ready to go in about fifteen minutes. And to answer your question, it will take about thirteen hours."

"Thirteen hours?"

"Yeah, so let's move."

"What time will it be when we get there?" she asked as she started to get changed.

"A little after 1 in the morning. We'll find a good hotel, sleep for a few hours and then get a good start in the morning."

"This is going to suck."

"Yes. Yes, it will."

* * *

**March 14, 2004**

**2:04 AM**

**Moscow, Russia**

It was just after 11 PM in England and just after 2 AM in Moscow when Harry and Cho finally landed just outside of town. They had flown at breakneck speeds all day, only stopping twice for food and bathroom breaks. The two of them nearly collapsed in exhaustion as they landed. Thankfully, they were able to land on a grassland not far from the edge of town. The moment they landed, Harry fell to the ground, relishing the stopped movement.

"I hate you." Cho growled as she breathed deep.

"I hate me too." Harry agreed as he got back up. "Let's not walk. I can Apparate us to the bar where we can stay."

"Sounds good." Cho said as she approached him. He took her hand and turning, whisking them away to The Drunken Warlock, a favorite wizard's pub in downtown Moscow, just a few blocks from the Kremlin. Once they stopped spinning and landed at the bar, Harry let go of Cho and walked to the bar, hailing the bartender.

"Do you speak English?" Harry asked the bartender.

"Da." was his simple reply.

"Good. Do you have a room for two?"

"Da."

Harry had a feeling that he didn't know as much English as he let on.

"How much?"

"9 Galleons a night." the bartender replied thickly.

"Fine. I'll pay for two nights."

"Da." he replied as he took the money. "Room dtwo."

"Two? Thanks." Harry replied before waving to Cho, indicating that she should follow him.

The two followed the bartender as he led them down the short hallway behind the bar to their room. As he opened the door to their room, Harry looked around and saw that it was simply a single room with a sink in the corner.

"Bathroom end of hall." he spat out shortly.

"Shower?" Harry asked. The bartender's reply was a shake of the head.

"Great." Cho grumbled.

"We'll figure something out." Harry replied before turning back to the bartender. "Thanks again."

"Not problem. I sleep now. Not wake up early."

"We'll try not to." Harry replied graciously as she showed the man out of the room.

"Damn, I'm exhausted." Cho replied as she slowly crawled into bed.

"Me too." Harry replied as he joined her. "I just set an Alarm Charm. My wand's going to sing "God Save the Queen" at ten."

"Fantastic." Cho said as she quickly slipped off to sleep.

Harry followed her quickly.

* * *

**11:24 AM**

After sleeping through the Alarm Charm for nearly thirty minutes, Harry and Cho woke up and quickly got dressed. Just before they left, Harry sent a letter to his one contact within the Ministry here in Moscow. Hopefully, he would be able to help them get the information they wanted.

Harry grabbed a quick bite to eat from the bartender down the hall before Apparating directly into the Entrance Lobby of the Ministry. As Harry looked around, he observed the room. It was large and incredibly square with the entire room being made up of right angles. But the best feature was the open air column that shot up through all the floors. It was surrounded by the lifts and was fit with a weather and warming charm. Meaning that if you got out of the elevator on the fifth floor during the winter, you would freeze and you wouldn't get rained on.

"Harry! Harry!"

Harry looked to the far end of the room where he saw Vitali Osin walking towards the pair of them. Vitali was the director of the National Magical Police, sort of like the Aurors of England. However, his department specialized directly in the deaths and murders of wizards. The Aurors here worked more as a task force for uprisings and worked as special investigators for the NMP. Everyone that wanted to be in the NMP started as an Auror. Certainly, Azoli Vinogradoff had started as an Auror and would have made the NMP had she stayed long enough.

Vitali was a well built man in his early fifties. He had long white hair pulled straight back in a ponytail that hung to the middle of his back. He wore bright red robes with a black suit hidden underneath. His hands were adorned with at least ten different rings and he wore several necklaces and he capped it off with several earrings in both ears. He reminded Harry very much of Bill Weasley, aged twenty years.

Harry knew Vitali from a case during his time in the Auror Office. He had been chasing after a group of Romanian-born magical terrorists who had sought refuge in St. Petersburg. Vitali had been instrumental in helping Harry find them and capture them.

"Harry, how are you?" he said through a mild Russian accent.

"I'm very well." Harry replied as she shook his hand. "Vitali, this is Cho Chang. Cho, this is Vitali Osin, director of the National Magical Police."

"Please to meet you." Cho said as she too shook his hand.

"The honor is mine." Vitali replied before turning back to Harry. "Harry, your letter was very vague. I hope that I am able to help you."

"Let's go to your office and talk." Harry answered. "I don't want to be overheard."

As they walked the short distance to Vitali's office, Harry observed that the Ministry here worked similarly to the one in London. Paper airplanes with notes on them flew around the halls and the lifts were constantly running people up and down the floors of the massive building.

Thankfully, Vitali's office was on the first floor and so just a short trip later, they were there. The room was spacious yet modestly decorated. All that resided within the room were two bookshelves, a desk and two desk for guests. Other than that, there was a small table in the corner that Vitali had put family photos on and the far wall was covered in filing cabinets.

"Please have a seat." Vitali said as he indicated to the chairs in front of the desk. "Now, what is the problem?"

"The problem is Azoli Vinogradoff."

Instantly, Vitali's mood changed from someone looking to help to someone enraged by something.

"We lost track of her over eighteen months ago." Vitali admitted growling with a rage. "We had been following her since 1999 when we are fairly positive that she joined with your Lord Voldemort."

"Oh he most certainly wasn't mine." Harry joked.

"Of course." Vitali laughed back. "Anyway, we were following her and then a year and a half ago, she disappeared off our radar. There were rumors that she had hopped the Strait and was living in Alaska but we were never able to substantiate them."

"Alaska? That's where I was living."

"Yeah. We think that's why she was there."

"Wait, how did you know that I was living there?"

"Kingsley Shacklebolt requested that everyone try and keep track of where you were. I think he was afraid of you getting pissed off and coming back to town and try to kill everyone." Vitali replied.

"Great." Harry shot back.

"Yeah, not my idea." Vitali replied. "But anyway we thought she was living in Alaska but we couldn't check. We're never on greatest terms with the Americans and just waltzing right into Alaska is a bad idea. So, we left her there. Plus, she doesn't have any living friends or relatives."

"Not anymore anyway."

"Excuse me?"

"When I was in Alaska, her trainer, Noah, came and worked with me so that I could beat her when the time came. She killed him about a week ago."

Vitali instantly looked flustered. He jumped up and immediately began looking in his filing cabinets. After several minutes of silent, frantic searching, he found was he was looking for. He came back to his desk and instantly began reading the file in front of him. When he was done, he looked up, a look of severe confusion on his face.

"Was this man an American?" he asked as he looked up at Harry.

"Yes." Harry replied in confusion.

"Mr. Potter, I don't know how to say this. We record every Auror's trainer and every NMP trainer. We have for the last fifty years. Azoli Vinogradoff worked with only one trainer. He was a Russian man by the name of Gabriel."

"Can we talk to him?" Harry asked.

"No."

"Why not?" Harry pressed.

"Because Azoli killed him five years ago."


	12. XII

**March 15, 2004**

**3:31 PM London Time/6:31 PM Moscow Time**

**Wizengamot Court Room**

Ron walked into the main court room that would be used today for the preliminary stages of the trial against The Frenchman and took his seat just off the main floor. It had been years, probably since the trial of Antonin Dolohov, that there had been this many Aurors present in the Ministry. With all the recent rumors when it came to The Jester, we couldn't afford to take any chances. Robards would have normally been in charge of security but he was expected to testify. This meant that I probably would have been in charge. However, I was also to testify because I was the initial interrogator.

Dawlish was too old to lead security at this point and that mean that someone who Ron didn't trust would be in charge, Auror Charles Williamson. Williamson had been in the Department for a while and was Robard's personal lap dog. Normally, Ron and Dawlish were good enough to keep Williamson away from a position where he would be expected to lead. Unfortunately, with the circumstances surrounding today, he had been unsuccessful and now he had to worry about Dark Wizards attacking a team led by an average Auror.

Just as Ron finished getting comfortable in his seat, the door behind the large stage where the Minister and the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot sat opened. Seconds later, the voting members of the court began filing into the seats that surrounded the top of the room. For a few moments, the room buzzed with conversation from the both the voters and the few spectators that were allowed to be in the room.

Once everyone was situated, my father spoke from his position at the front of the room.

"Good afternoon all." he started warmly, despite the morbid dealings of the day. "As Minister of Magic, I call this trial of Bruno Christoph to order."

Next, the man next to him, Tiberius Ogden, spoke. Ogden, who had resigned with Griselda Marchbanks when Dolores Umbridge had been named to the staff at Hogwarts, had been invited to join the Wizengamot as the new Chief Warlock just after Marchbanks' retirement six months after Harry disappeared. Personally, Ron thought that the man was a bit of a stick in the mud. However, Ron also knew that his father trusted Ogden implicitly and therefore, Ron dealt with the man.

"Witches and wizrds of the Wizengamot, before we bring Mr. Christoph into the room, I will remind you of the matter at hand." Tiberius said officially. "Mr. Christoph has been charged with 10 counts of murder, 144 counts of conspiracy to commit murder and one count of international terrorism. According to newly passed regulations, any person who is convicted of crimes with the potential of being sentenced to more than 2,000 years in prison can be sentenced to death by this court. If convicted and sentenced to the maximum of each sentence, Mr. Christoph would be sentenced to 500 years for murder, 2,880 for conspiracy to commit murder and seventy years for international terrorism for a total of 3,450 years."

Wow. That was the only word that could run through Ron's head as he tried to grasp just how severe the crimes of this man were. The fact that, if convicted, his choices were 3,000 years in prison or death was horrifying. However, if there was anyone left on earth that deserved either of those punishments, it was this man.

"Chief Warlock, according to a statement given to this court by Harry James Potter, Mr. Christoph has given testimony against the dark witch known as the Jester. For his testimony, Ambassador Potter has asked that the death penalty be taken off the table." Dad mentioned next to Tiberius. Ron could see that Tiberius wasn't happy with this but he knew better than to go after Harry when he was the only person that truly had any idea what was going on with the Jester.

"If it pleases the court, it shall be so." Tiberius said as he stood up. "Those in favor of removing the death penalty as a punishment for Mr. Bruno Christoph, reply in the affirmative."

Just like at Harry's trial, blasts of light came from all over the room. And just like in Harry's trial, a number floated just above the middle of the court: 148, a clear majority. Apparently, just like Tiberius, the Wizengamot knew it was in their best interests to agree with whatever Harry wanted for the time being.

"Good." Dad said warmly before turning back to Tiberius. "This is your show."

"Aurors, please bring in the accused." Tiberius said, motioning to the two Junior Aurors standing by the door. They each turned and opened the large doors that allowed entrance to the room. When they pulled the door open, Bruno Christoph stood in the doorway. However, unlike the last few times I had seen him, he didn't look broken and dishevled. No, this time he looked exactly like he had looked when we brought him in with a smirk on his face and his hair clean and slicked back.

He was escorted into the room by the two Aurors and led to the chair that every accused had sat for years. Once he was seated, the magical chains leapt up and latched themselves onto his wrists and ankles, pulling him into place. He appeared to almost be amused with everything that was happening around him, smiling smugly as he observed the room around him.

"Bruno Christoph, you have been charged with ten counts of murder, 144 counts of conspiracy to commit murder and one count of international terrorism, counts totalling over 3,000 years in maximum security lockup. Due to your assistance of Harry Potter's investigation, this is not a capital punishment trial, meaning that we cannot seek the death penalty for your crimes. Do you understand these charges?"

"Oui." he replied smugly.

"And how do you respond to these charges?"

"Why of course I am innocent!" he replied, ditching the English accent he had used during interrogations and adopting an entirely French persona. Ron didn't have any idea why he would want to do that but it was disconcerting nonetheless.

"Of course you are." Tiberius replied. "Testimony will begin tomorrow. The prosecution will have three days to present their case. The defense will be given three days after that and then the prosecution will be given one day for rebuttal. We will end things for today. Be back here at 8 AM tomorrow morning to begin."

Great. A morning trial. Ron knew that he was going to be called on by the prosecution and probably fairly early in the trial. This meant that he was going to have to show up early tomorrow morning with the rest of the Wizengamot and the reporters that were sure to show up in the Atrium as he was coming in.

Great, just great.

* * *

**March 16**

**5:51 PM Moscow Time/2:51 PM London Time**

"Just got a message from Ron." Cho said softly. "The first day of the trial was a trainwreck. Apparently, there were riots in the Atrium and Williamson couldn't get them stopped."

"That man was an idiot when I was around." Harry replied. "I can't imagine things have gotten better."

"Well, I've kind of been out of the loop here for awhile so I wouldn't know one way or the other."

"It doesn't matter. Arthur and Tiberius will make sure that things stay in order. Now get over here." he replied. "Vitali said that he can only keep the Floo Network open too long before someone notices that we're breaking into a private residence."

"I still don't understand. She's under investigation. Why is this a problem?"

"She's under investigation in England. They don't care here. I doubt that Vitali would even care if he didn't owe me several large favors."

After spending two days searching through Vitali's records for any evidence of Noah, we had finally given up. There was no evidence that anyone from America named Noah had ever stepped inside their Ministry of Magic, let alone train their Aurors. To Harry, it didn't really matter. While it was strange, Noah was dead and that was the end of the matter. Plus, for all Harry knew, he could have been Gabriel in hiding after faking his death.

After giving up their search for Noah, Harry and Cho had asked to see Azoli's house in Siberia. Unfortunately, allowing foreign wizards into a residence without a warrant from the International Confederation of Wizards. Fortunately for us, Vitali was willing to look passed that small technicality and let them in discretely by attaching the Floo in their hotel room to the fireplace in Azoli's home. He had stopped by our room briefly earlier in the day.

"Now, Harry, I know that you know this but I'll remind you. No one can know that you are there." he said softly as if he was telling a horrible secret. "If something happens to you out there, you are on your own and remember, it's going to be freezing. I've been out there once and she lives right on the East Siberian Sea. Dress as warmly as possible because I doubt that she has kept up on her Warming Charms while she's been on the run."

That had been roughly two hours ago. Harry and Cho had spent the time since then bundling up and preparing themselves for whatever they would find out there.

"You ready?" Harry asked.

"As ready as I'll be." Cho confirmed.

With her reply, Harry grabbed the bag of Floo Powder and threw a handful of it into the fire, causing it to roar and shine bright green. Quickly, the pair of them stepped in. Once they were both in, Harry held Cho around the waist and shouted.

"Azoli's home!"

In an instant, the two of them were launched into the fire and after working their way through a maze of green fire, they came out standing in the empty fireplace of a dark and depressing house. Harry quickly raised his wand and lit up the whole room.

Instantly, Harry could tell that the house had not been used for some time. Dust covered everything and there were books strewn across a table that had been frozen into place. In fact, as he looked around the room, almost everything had been frozen in place. That would certainly make searching more difficult. Fortunately, Harry saw that Cho had an idea as she whipped her wand towards the middle of the room.

The moment her spell reached the room, Harry could feel the heat begin to radiate around the room. Rather than light a bunch of flames that would certainly catch something on fire, she had instead reactivated Azoli's Warming Charms that she had used to keep the house from freezing like it had. Within just a few minutes, much of the ice had disappeared and Harry took to drying up the puddles that appeared on the floor and the few tables scattered around the room.

If Harry had expected the room to brighten up with the addition of light and the removal of all the dust and ice, he was sorely mistaken. In fact, if anything, Harry thought that the room looked creepier now that he could see it how it was meant to be seen. The house was massive with incredibly high ceilings and large arches for doorways that connected each room. As Harry and Cho searched the house, they found the entrance hall which held a gigantic spiral staircase that had to have reached at least six stories.

"This is going to take forever." Cho said sullenly.

"It's going to take longer than that." Harry agreed. "I imagine that there's a lot of Dark Magic protecting this house. We have to be careful not to set off any traps or anything that we may find."

"Damn."

Harry silently agreed as they went about beginning to search the first floor. They found several bedrooms of little interest and two sitting rooms that had largely been emptied. The dining room was full but of dining ware and nothing that would suggest that she was hiding anything in there. As they continued searching the house, Harry knew that they were bound to find something evil eventually.

He was dangerously correct. When they discovered that the first floor was largely empty, they climbed the stairs. The moment they reached the top of the stairs, all the artificial light in the house went out.

"Great." Cho muttered next to Harry.

"Agreed. _Lumos."_

The light from Harry's wand, while as bright as ever, barely filled out the landing of the second floor.

"Well this is really not cool."

"No kidding." Harry replied before stepping forward on the landing before sticking his wand out in front of him and rotating slowly around to view the floor. The second floor was one long hallway that was lined with doors. As Harry looked up, he saw that the house did stop at six stories. However, Vitali had given them a time limit of only one hour to search the house. After that, he would have to shut down the Floo Network and our presence would become known to the Russian Ministry, a severe worst case scenario.

"This is going to take too long." Harry spat out roughly. "We only have an hour and it could take us an hour to search just this floor."

"How much time do we have left?" Cho asked.

"Fifty minutes still but it's going to take us too long to do this manually."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, it means that we can either give up and go home or do one of the single dumbest things I've ever done." Harry replied with a frustrated chuckle.

"That's impressive. How dumb?"

"For the first year I was an Auror, I worked specifically as a charm and ward breaker. Mostly, you want to systematically take them down. However, there is a way to bring all of the protection wards at once."

"How?" Cho asked with an incredibly concerned look on her face.

"You set them off all at once."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Under no circumstances would I joke about this." Harry shot back grimly.

"How dangerous could this be?" Cho asked.

"Knowing the level of magic that Vinogradoff was capable of, it is likely to be lethal if we don't defend ourselves properly."

Cho appeared to be thinking it over as she listened to my prognosis.

"Why didn't we just negotiate for more time?" Cho asked him.

"Because we can't negotiate when the fact that we're here is illegal by itself."

"Good point." she replied softly before looking up at me. "How are we going to have to defend ourselves?"

"By specializing. I want you to be in charge of shields. Anything that looks like a spell or a curse, use a simple shield charm. I'm certain that there are going to be some simpler and more barbaric defenses that I need to take care of."

"Will do." Cho said with a nod as she readied her wand.

"Good." Harry said as he readied himself. "Now, when I attack the wards, there will probably be some general wards over the whole house. However, the most secure location in her house will probably have the most dangerous wards. Wherever they come from, that's where we're headed."

"Remind me why we're doing this again." Cho grumbled low.

"Because we need more information on her, The Frenchman and the Network. We need to know how or if she was working with Voldemort an-"

Just as Harry spit out the deceased Dark Lord's name, the house came to life as a rush of cold wind came barreling down the hall towards them. Harry quickly raised his wand and fired a shield that would keep them from being swept down the stairs where there was probably some dark magic waiting for them.

"Apparently, she didn't like you saying that name." Cho replied as she leveled her wand towards the end of the hallway, ready for whatever was coming.

And it was a good thing she was ready because the moment she set her feet, a wave of fire came rushing towards them. Reacting instinctively, Harry and Cho both fired their most powerful water Charm, pushing the flames back. As they worked in tandem to push the fire back, Harry noticed that something was come up from behind them. He turned to see enormous statues of armor filing down the stairs towards them. Harry knew that he needed to act quickly.

"Cho, you need to hold this!" he screamed over the sound of the roaring fire.

"Go quick!" Cho replied firmly as she continued to press the flames while spotting the suits over her shoulder.

Once he knew that she was set, he turned and directed his wand at the suit closest to him.

_"Depulso!"_

The Banishing Charm struck the suit directly in the chest and sent it flying backwards through the ranks of the ten or fifteen suits that followed behind it. Once Harry saw that he had cleared some space, he attacked with more firepower.

_"Expulso!"_

This time, the group of suits didn't know what was coming. The curse hit one of the suits closer to the back of the group, causing a massive explosion that sent metal from the suits and wood from the staircase flying. With a whip of his wand, Harry sent a wave of heat that burnt everything flying at him to a crisp, preventing any damage to himself or Cho. Harry waited for the smoke and dust to settle before he saw that only one suit remained. Unlike the other ones, which had been silver, this one's armor was black with a red helmet. Something about that told Harry that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.

He was very right. The knight charged forward and despite every curse that Harry sent at it, it didn't seem to notice a thing. Harry realized this, almost a moment too late, and dove out of the way. As he tucked, he snuck a look at Cho who was having great difficulty putting out the large flames. He knew that things needed to get taken care of quickly before both of them ended up dead.

Harry looked down and noticed that there was a large and sharp metal rod, probably from one of the several explosions that had rocked the house, laying at his feet. Suddenly, an inspiration struck him, causing him to realize why his magic hadn't worked against him. This knight could likely only be defeated in hand to hand combat, something which Harry had been trained in briefly at the Auror Academy years ago but had refreshed since then.

Harry put his wand in its holder in his sleeve while he bent down to pick up the metal rod. Harry knew that he had done the right thing because rather than charging him, the knight set up in fighting stance. This was going to be difficult, Harry was sure of that. This black knight was nearly eight feet tall and was more than likely going to be magically aided in its strength and speed.

Harry instantly decided to change tactics, pulling his wand back out again and going with a one handed fighting stance that would allow him to use his wand at the same time. Looking up at the giant knight, Harry waited for it to make the first move and Harry wasn't disappointed. Within moments, the knight raised its sword and struck straight down towards Harry.

Harry raised his wand directly over head and aimed a shield charm that came into directly contact with the sword, knocking the knight off balance. Harry instantly dove under the legs of the knight. Once he was passed him, he turned around and shoved the rod in the back of the knight's leg. Not surprisingly, no blood came out, although the knight did release a small and muted cry of pain. As Harry pulled the rod back out of the leg, the knight swept around, swinging the sword straight towards Harry.

This time, Harry didn't use magic but rather the rod itself to stop it. As Harry expected, the knight carried an enormous amount of power in its swing. What he hadn't been expecting was that the force would so much as to throw him through the air and into the wall directly next to him. As he picked himself up off the floor, spitting a little bit of blood out as he stood, he prepared himself for another attack.

Again, the knight swung at him and again, Harry used his rod to defend himself. However, this time, he was smart enough not to block it directly but instead simply readjust the route it was taking. When he did this, the knight fell off balance, stumbling down the hallway. Chasing after it, Harry aimed his wand at the floor and fired an exploding charm, launching him high into the air.

When the stumbling knight turned back around, he was looking towards the floor, expecting to see a charging Harry Potter. Instead, Harry was flying through the air towards the head of the giant paladin. When he reached its head, he latched on and then brought the rod down directly on top of its head.

In an instant, Harry knew that he had won. The moment the rod went through its head, the knight stiffened up and began rocking before slowly falling to the ground. Just before it hit the ground, Harry leapt from the back of the knight and rolled, saving himself from injury.

Harry took a moment to reflect on his victory before a startling voice shocked him out of silence.

"Harry!"

In one motion, Harry flipped around to see Cho slipping back against the fire in front of her. The flames were almost licking the edge of her wand as she desperately tried to control the massive fire. Without hesitation, Harry jumped over the knight towards her. Once he was next to her, he waved his wand and in one swipe, blasted the fire away from the two of them.

_"Aguamenti!"_

The massive rush of water that came out of Harry's wand put the flames out in a matter of a few seconds. The moment the flames were gone, Harry dropped to the floor to check on the status of his partner.

"Cho, are you okay?" Harry asked she collapsed into him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just need a couple minutes to rest."

"Well don't take too long." Harry replied with a nervous smile. He could see that she had some rather rough burns covering her arms and the tips of her black hair had been charred white. However, the look on her face was one of determination. Regardless of her injuries, she appeared ready to go within moments. In the past, while he was been fond of her, Harry never thought much for her fortitude. Now, she had more Gryffindor in her than more actual Gryffindors did. Something had certainly changed in her over the years.

"I'll try not to." she said roughly as, with Harry's help, she got to her feet. "Let's keep moving. This place freaks me out."

And with that, they were off, climbing the stairs to the fifth floor where they knew that they have found Azoli's safe haven. Lining the long hallway to the large double doors at the end of the hallway were stands where suits of armor had obviously stood upon until a few moments ago. Safely assuming that the room where most of Azoli's secrets would be held was the one at the end of the hall, they skipped the other doors and quickly moved to the end of the hall.

Bursting through the huge doors, they instantly knew that they had been correct. The room was massive and yet cramped with bookcases lining the walls, causing the room to feel pressed back towards them. In the middle of the room was a massive circular desk with papers strewn all over it. Harry and Cho slowly approached the center of the room before he turned to her.

"We need to spread out. Search for anything out of the ordinary."

"Harry, have you looked at anything on the table in front of us, this is all out of the ordinary." Cho said, pointing towards the piles of parchment on the table.

Sure enough, Harry looked down at the papers and could hardly understand any of it. Most of the notes on the pages were written in Russian and the pictures that had been drawn helped very little. On one, Harry could make out a map of Europe, but it had one large difference. West of England, and directly south of Iceland, was another island that Harry knew didn't exist. It had a strange name written in another language that Harry knew nothing of. In fact, it didn't look like any language or rune that Harry had ever seen.

"Take this." Harry said to Cho. "I'm going to give it to Hermione and see if she can translate it."

"Do you trust her for this?" Cho asked with a sly grin.

"Can we not start that here?" Harry answered with exasperation. "No, I haven't completely forgiven her. Should I? Probably. But that's not important right now."

"Then what is?" Cho asked, this time entirely serious. "If you didn't come back to make amends with her, why did you come back, Harry?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest. The Jester feels like a loose end to Voldemort. Like while she's on the loose, so is a small part of _him. _I can't live with that."

Suddenly, Harry felt Cho's hand on his shoulder as he was rotated roughly in place.

"There is always going to be darkness. Without it, we could have people like you and Dumbledore. That you are going to have live with."

"Why does there have to be darkness?" Harry asked. "Why can't the world just treat each other well?"

"Because we're human. It's against our nature to treat each other well." Cho replied with a grimace.

Harry knew she was right. It wasn't that people were bad, at least that's not what he got out of what she was saying. No, it's simply that people looked out for their own interests more than the common good. Most of the time, that wasn't really a problem. However, when someone's interests were the destruction of a whole group of people, like Tom Riddle's or Azoli Vinogradoff's, well that's when it become a bigger problem.

"So how do you feel about her?"

Harry took a moment to collect himself before he answered, not exactly sure what to say but saying what he felt anyway.

"I feel everything that I had ever felt about her. Despite the fact that I've spent most of my time with you since I got back, she's still my best friend. Even with my time away, she know more about me than anyone in the world. I still love her despite all of this. If she ever felt compelled to leave Ron and be with me, I would be hard pressed to say no. And yet, I still can't get over my _disappointment _over what she did. I don't know if I ever will. What's amazing to me is that I don't even think she did anything wrong at this point, and yet, I'm still angry."

"Are you even angry at her?" Cho asked softly as she continued to search through papers.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it was just the whole damn thing. The fact that I was being drug into the court like some common criminal, trying to defend myself. No one knows what I went through. Physically, Hermione was there for it all and Ron was there for most of it, but I'm not even sure they understood what it was like for me. From day one, we were at a disadvantage. We didn't know enough and there was really no good way to get information quickly. They both looked to me for guidance, despite the fact that Hermione was really our leader."

"Really? I always thought she was more of the planner and then you were the executor, two sides of the same coin." Cho replied, finally looking up from the papers in front of her to look at him. "She had the information to create crazy plans and you had the stones to go through with them. Seems like a perfect pair to me."

This is why he needed someone like Cho in his life. She was close enough to his life to know generally what had happened but without knowing the dirty details that could skew her views. To say things like this that made absolute sense but no one had ever said them out loud before. The moment the words had come out of her mouth, Harry had realized how right she was. Harry had gone years thinking that he was more of a crude instrument, a blunt object wielded simply to smash things in his way. It was nice to hear that he might have been more than that.

"I'm sorry to change the subject so abruptly but I think you need to see this." Cho said, shaking Harry from his thoughts. Harry rotated around the table to where Cho was standing and looked down at the piece of paper in front of him. While he couldn't read any of the letter itself, he could read the names at the top and bottom. At the top, the recipient was Azoli and at the bottom, the sender was-

"Grindelwald?" Harry said in confusion. "It has to be _that _Grindelwald doesn't it?"

"The odds of there being another Grindelwald corresponding with a Dark witch when there was one alive in Europe up until six years ago are unlikely." Cho replied in confirmation.

"Right." he replied, almost to himself. "What do you think that it could be about?"

"No idea. We need to get back to the Ministry and a translator. Vinogradoff, at some point in the past, was in communication with one of the Darkest wizards of our time. How long do you think they talked?"

"I'm not sure." Harry replied as he started to dig through the piles on the table. "But I'm finding a few more down here. She certainly wasn't very careful when it came to these."

"She probably never thought that they would be useful to anyone but herself." Cho answered.

"If she only knew..."

The pair searched diligently for the next few moments before they finally decided that they were finished with this place. Quickly throwing the important pages they found in a bag that Cho had brought with them, they rushed down the staircase and back to the fireplace. As Cho finished getting the Floo Powder out of her bag, Harry turned back to the main room. With a flick of his wand, a rush of purple fire came bursting out, landing on the floor in front of them.

"Is that what I think it is?" Cho asked, noticing the almost blinding color of the fire.

"Everlasting Fire. I don't think that Azoli is going to get anything else here." Harry said darkly as the flames quickly climbed the curtains next to them, setting the ceiling above them on fire.

"We need to get out of here then." Cho said pointedly.

"Agreed." Harry replied quickly before grabbing the bag of Floo out of her hand and throwing some into the fire. Moving as quickly as possible, the two stepped onto the green flames. Once they were in, Harry shouted their destination.

"The Ministry!"

In a small explosion of green flames and soot, the two were transported roughly back to Moscow.

About an hour later, Azoli Vinogradoff's home burnt to the ground.

* * *

**March 18**

**11:10 AM**

**Wizengamot Court Room**

Ron had sat through two excruciating days of The Frenchman's trial when he was finally called upon to testify. The reason it had taken so long for the trial to get to him, traditionally one of the first people to testify as the arresting Auror and initial interrogator, was Charlotte Parkinson and Samantha Fawcett.

Charlotte Parkinson was the aunt of Pansy Parkinson and made Pansy look like a fairy godmother. Like her niece, she had a mean complexion with scowl permanently etched onto her face. She was ruthless, corrupt and deceitful. She was also the best defense advocate in the country. Samantha Fawcett had been a Ravenclaw in school and if any Hogwarts House had a living representation of it, she was it.

If Parkinson was visually female evil incarnate, then, outwardly, Samantha Fawcett was the opposite. She was tall and thin with nearly white blonde hair that reached the middle of her back. When she wished to get what she wanted, all she needed to do was smile and almost anyone would fall for her charms. However, there was a stronger and more cerebral side of her. She was brilliant, calculating, clever and knew the laws of the Wizarding Society front and back. Were it not for the fact that she seemed to be the single most incorruptible person in England, she could have passed for a Slytherin.

The two of them had done a wonderful job of defending or prosecuting their interests while dragging all of the prior two days' proceedings through a pit of mud that had to have been so thick, it was more a solid that a liquid. Finally, after another two hours of motions and countermotions and objections to the countermotions, they were ready to start calling witnesses and I was Samantha's first.

"State your name." Samantha said, looking at him over her glasses.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, Senior Auror." Ron replied firmly.

"Is it correct that you were the arresting officer of Bruno Christoph, otherwise known as The Frenchman?"

"It is." he confirmed.

"Would you please tell us the story of how he came to be in your custody?" she replied, finally standing from her table and moving towards him.

"Of course. Three days before his capture and subsequent arrest, myself and my partner, John Dawlish, received an owl from a man who had supposedly spotted him in Westminster near a Muggle bookstore. In the past year, we knew that The Frenchman had been responsible for several attacks on Muggles and to hear that he was in an almost entirely Muggle area was obviously disconcerting."

"Objection!" Charlotte Parkinson shrieked. "There is no proof that my client was involved in any of those attacks!"

"Mr. Weasley, can you provide any proof that the man accused was responsible for any of the attacks that you claim he was responsible for?" Tiberius Ogden asked from behind me.

"Yes, we have several eyewitnesses who have testified that they saw him at the sight before the attacks happen. Also, during his raid in Spain, which followed a similar M.O. to the attacks here in London and in Marseilles, he forgot to destroy a Muggle video camera."

"What is this video camera?" my father asked curiously behind him. It was all he could do to repress a smile.

"A video camera, as it has been explained to me, takes moving picture for an extended amount of time. Then, it is printed onto these strange black "tapes" that are placed inside a machine of some sort and these moving pictures can be played back. I have viewed the moving picture myself. There is no doubt that the man in the pictures is Bruno Christoph."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley." Tiberius said above me. "Objection overruled. Continue." he ordered to Samantha.

"You said that he was spotted in Westminster?" Samantha said leadingly.

"Correct. So, Dawlish and I organized a team of four Aurors: the two of us, Tom Proudfoot and Elijah Savage."

"Why such a small team?" Samantha asked as she paced back and forth in front of Ron.

"In Marseilles, the French had put together a sixteen Auror task force to capture him. Unfortunately, they tipped him off hours before they moved in on him and he was ready. Killed 14 of the 16 offices and maimed the other two. So, we decided we would go with another tactic. We went with a small team, no magical communication of any kind."

"Completely dark?"

"Completely." Ron agreed. "If you wanted to pass a message, you walked to the other team and told them yourself."

"How did you find Mr. Christoph?"

"Surprisingly, he wasn't that difficult to find." Ron said with a smug grin. "He had no idea we were there and so he was wondering around, flaunting his magical ability for all to see, anyone that could have seen it anyway."

"What was he doing?"

"Nothing major. Small Memory charms, which we fixed." Ron pointed out quickly. "Setting small fires, pulling stools out from under people by Summoning them. It was strange for us. We knew that this man was an international terrorist and yet he was acting like nothing more than a simple fiend."

"Did this change your mind about him?"

"Not at all." he replied quickly. "In fact, we followed him all the way back to his residence. He had purchased a room in a Muggle hotel not far from where he had been spotted. The receptionist had been Confounded into telling everyone that the whole floor he was staying in was full. When we went upstairs to check, he had murdered every person on the floor. After the fact, when we went back to check his room, he had a Muggle woman tied to his bed. We found no evidence of any physical damage."

"What was she there for then?"

The thought alone made Ron shake in his seat.

"He was raping her, beating her, torturing her. However, he put a Silencing Charm on her so that when she screamed, no one outside the room could hear it. She had Memory Charms placed on her, leaving holes in her memory. However, the holes were not accidents."

"How can you know this?" Samantha asked quietly. Ron could feel the chill come over the whole room as he began to recite the horrible parts of this story. It had been the worst case of his career and probably one that would stick with him until the end, whenever that came.

"Because of what she remembered. She knew that each time he raped her, she passed out. However, she has no memory of recovering or of the periods in between when she was being raped. All she could remember was being beaten."

"How long was she there?"

"Dawlish found her the day after we brought him in. That was January 20. She said that the last day she remembered being outside of November 29."

The moment the words left my mouth, a small hum came over the room as the horrified members of the Wizengamot reacted to what I had said.

"Please tell us how you captured Mr. Christoph."

"Simple bait. We assumed that he liked to frequently visit the places that he destroyed. Thankfully, we were correct. The next day, he returned and when he did, the four of us were inside the bookstore, ready to pounce. Once he was inside, we cleared the place out and attacked. He either had no idea what was coming or he knew and went with us. Dawlish distracted him and I hit him in the back with a Stunner. We pulled an Obliviation Team in and repaired the memories of all the Muggles in the area. They never knew that we or he was ever there."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley." Samantha said with a courteous nod before heading back to her seat.

Instantly, Ron knew what was coming next and he knew that there was no way he was ready for it. Charlotte Parkinson shot out of her chair and strode quickly towards Ron until she was only a few feet away. Then, she struck.

"Aurors Dawlish, Proudfoot and Savage, I did not see them on the witness list."

He had been instructed that this was where she would start. She knew that we had fairly reliable evidence that he was guilty. So, rather than trying to poke holes in his story, she would try and poke holes in him. For most people, it would work without a hitch. He only hoped that he wasn't most people.

"No, you did not." Ron answered honestly.

"Why not?"

"You did not see them on the list, Mrs. Parkinson, because they are dead." Ron said through gritted teeth.

"My apologies for asking. But, how exactly did they die?"

"They were murdered by a woman named Azoli Vinogradoff, also known as The Jester. She is Mr. Christoph's mentor in the Dark Arts."

"That doesn't matter to me, Mr. Weasley." she said with almost a gleeful expression. "No, what matters to me is why they died. Why were you put in a situation where you were forced to fight someone as power as this "Joker" character."

"Jester." Ron corrected.

"Again, not important. Now, please answer the question." she retorted, this time losing the cheery impression and taking on the evil demeanor she had been using for the past two days.

"The Ministry received a letter from the Ministry of Magic in Prague. The Jester threatened to attack the Ministry in London if we did not return The Frenchman to her."

"And what was your response?"

"I took the same four person team that I had taken to defeat The Frenchman to Prague."

"Why?"

"Excuse me?" Ron asked in confusion.

"Why go to Prague? There's no immediate threat to the safety of you or your prisoner. It is merely a letter threatening you. You had no proof that she or anyone she was supposedly working with had done anything. What made you go to Prague?"

"I thought that we could take her down and end their alliance once and for all. I was wrong."

"You were wrong, Mr. Weasley." she said softly, barely audible to anyway more than five feet away from us. "You were wrong and three people died for it."

"Yes, they did and I regret it every day."

"Regret gets you nothing in this court, Mr. Weasley." she replied harshly before turning to the members of the Court. "Members of the court, Mr. Weasley acted quickly and rashly and people died as a result! Auror Weasley was so confident in his ability, so certain in his conviction that The Frenchman and The Jester were in collusion, that he didn't stop to prepare! I can tell you that is not the case! My client will testify that he has never seen or heard of Azoli Vinogradoff and that Mr. Weasley tortured the information from my client!"

"That's a lie!" Ron shouted. "I heard him confess to everything!"

"That confession was a forced confession by Harry Potter. Harry Potter is not an Auror and therefore should not have been allowed to interrogate anyone."

"Well, then I guess that makes his plea bargain invalid."

The new voice in the room was strangely familiar. Ron looked passed the tables were the prosecutor and the defense sat and saw a ghost of the past. The man had become a veritable recluse in the years after the war, choosing the comfort of his own home over the confusion of the Wizarding World. His once pristine appearance had fallen off, his hair was falling out and there were permanently dark circles under his eyes.

"Lucius Malfoy?" Ron said in confusion.

Suddenly, Ron saw the posture that Lucius had taken and realized far too late what was about to happen.

"The Jester and the Dark Lord send their regards."

Instantly, a burst of green light radiated from the end of Malfoy's wand. The curse hit The Frenchman directly in the chest.

He was dead before he hit the floor.


	13. XIII

**March 18**

**5:46 PM Moscow Time/2:46 PM London Time**

**The Office of Vitali Osin**

It had been nearly two days since Harry and Cho had illegally broken into the residence of Azoli Vinogradoff, otherwise known as The Jester. In the two days since then, they had done almost nothing. When they got back from their excursion, they found that Vitali was gone and a note saying that he had been called to St. Petersburg for an important matter was sitting on his desk. Personally, Harry didn't trust anyone else in the Russian Ministry.

So, rather than go somewhere else with the information they had gotten from the mansion, they simply waited for Vitali to return from his trip. Finally, they received an owl from Vitali telling them that he was back. Instantly, the pair jumped up from their boredom and raced back across town to his office.

That's where they sat now as they finished telling him the story of what they found and what they experienced. Harry ended the story with telling him that he had burned the house down. Needless to say, Vitali was not impressed.

"Seriously, Harry? You burned it down!" he nearly shouted in frustration.

"There was a lot of Dark magic there." Harry reasoned. "We couldn't control it, contain it or learn much from it. It needed to go. Plus, it gives her the idea that we're on her tail."

"We have no idea where she is." Vitali replied blandly.

"That's not that important." Cho replied next to him. "What is important is that she no longer has access to any of the supplies that were there. Plus, there were some really disgusting books there."

"And there were these." Harry replied, handing the letters over to Vitali.

Skeptically, Vitali took the papers and scanned them. Surprisingly to Harry, Vitali didn't seem to react with any kind of emotion. In fact, he looked bored reading them.

"What's the point?" he replied as he finished looking through them.

"Did you not see who they were sent by?" Harry shot back.

"Gellert Grindelwald." he replied nonchalantly. "He's a Dark wizard, she's a Dark witch. Why would it be strange for them to be talking?"

"Vitali, Dark wizards don't talk. They learn from each other and how to beat each other if they need to. Case in point, Lord Voldemort's only interaction with Grindelwald came when he thought that Grindelwald had information for him. Worldwide, Vinogradoff has taken over where Voldemort left off. While she's obviously not as powerful as Voldemort, she is the most influential Dark witch of the present time."

"What's your point?" he said as he took his seat, rubbing his temples. Harry could tell that he had been through a long couple days. However, this was not his concern. His concern was Vinogradoff.

"The only exception to this rule that we can find is The Jester training her boyfriend. Other than that, Morgan Le Fay, Herpo the Foul, Grindelwald, Voldemort, none of them corresponded with someone else. They took what they could and they killed anyone who stood in their way."

"What's your point, Potter?" he replied with an edge.

"What do those letters say?"

"It's not important." he replied shortly.

Harry instantly felt a chill run down his back. The reason that Harry had decided to fly to Moscow had been because he thought that there would be members of the Russian Ministry working for Vinogradoff. However, the one man who Harry had never thought would join with her would have been Vitali Osin. A man of almost sterling morals, the thought of him joining The Jester was almost obscene.

However, that Vitali hadn't seen anything even the least bit strange was bothering Harry. While Harry knew that his logic wasn't perfect (he didn't even know what the letters said), he thought that any reason Vitali wouldn't tell him what the letters said wasn't a good one.

"How long?" Harry asked accusingly.

"Excuse me?" Vitali replied harshly.

"What did she promise you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Vitali answered while rolling his eyes.

Suddenly, Harry stood and with a large swipe of his wand, Vitali's wand flew out of his cloak's pocket and into Harry's outstretched hand. Both Vitali and Cho leapt back in shock at the speed of Harry's motion. Once he got over the shock, Vitali stood in outrage, ready to get his wand back. Unfortunately for him, Harry leveled his wand directly at the Russian's forehead.

"Answers. _Now._" Harry growled.

"I don't know who you think you are, Potter. But you're going to end up in Chernye."

"I'm not worried about you or your prison." Harry shot back before lowering his wand to aim it at Vitali's knee. "Answer or you lose your leg."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wrong answer."

Suddenly, a blast of white light exploded from Harry's wand. In an instant, a few things happened. Harry heard the crunch of a breaking kneecap as he whipped around the room, casting a charm that would keep people from being able to listen to what was going on inside. Then, Harry turned back around and saw Vitali, laying on the floor with his hands around a bloody mess that was situated around where his knee used to be.

Harry leaned down and whispered in Vitali's ear.

"How much?"

Through his deep and labored breath, Vitali finally gave him the answer he wanted.

"No...no..money. Promised...Minister...o-of...Magic...a-a-and...safe...safe fa...safe family."

"Why the Minister job?"

Talking about the job he wanted, Harry noticed that he instantly seemed to get stronger.

"The Ministry here is...joke. Minister...controls everything. He needs to...go."

"She told you that she would get rid of him and put you in charge."

All Harry got was a nod of his head.

"What did the letters say?"

"Orders...from their superior..." Vitali replied softly before he passed out.

Superior?

"Vitali! Wake up!" Harry shouted. "Wake up!"

"Harry, he passed out!" Cho replied sharply. "What was that for?"

"He was working with her. Grindelwald." Harry said nearly to himself. "But who could they both have worked for?"

"Voldemort?" Cho asked.

"No, that wouldn't make any sense." Harry said as he healed Vitali's knee before he stood up. "Voldemort wouldn't work with anyone. It wouldn't have assuaged his ego."

"Well, we can figure it out later." Cho replied, eyeing the unconscious man on the floor. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Of course." Harry replied with a smile. "I healed his leg and Obliviated his memory. He won't even remember us being here."

"What about his ties to her?"

"They're still in there. If he forgot about them, it could endanger his family. I'm not about to do that to him."

"Fine." Cho replied. "Want to get out of here?"

"Of course." Harry said as he took Cho's hand, pulling them into nothingness.

* * *

**March 18**

**3:57 PM London Time/6:57 Moscow Time**

**Interrogation Room #1**

Ron hadn't stepped into one of the older interrogation room since his first year as an Auror. Normally, these rooms were unused with the Aurors and Hit Wizards favoring the newer interrogation rooms that Harry had developed. However, Ron knew that this wasn't going to be a normal interrogation. Unlike a normal criminal, this was a man who, despite his open status as a Death Eater, was still a rather important member of the Ministry. Even the fact that very few people gained an audience with Lucius Malfoy these days hadn't changed the prestige that came with the Malfoy name.

So, rather than give him the newer rooms, Dad had ordered Lucius to be brought down to the older rooms. There were a few advantages here. First, Ron could touch Lucius, something that he had never been able to do in the newer rooms. He could also have his wand on him for his own defense if Lucius managed to get loose. However, that was the negative. These rooms weren't nearly as secure as the newer ones.

Ron didn't think the reason that they were down here had anything to do with any of that, though. The observation rooms in these rooms were much larger than the ones in the newer interrogation room. As he stepped into the room, he noticed the large audience he would have. On the far side of the room stood his father, Minister of Magic, and his brother, Percy, Senior Undersecretary. Closer to him stood Kingsley Shacklebolt, who stayed on in the Ministry as a political advisor, who was talking to Hermione and Gawain Robards, the incompetent Head of the Auror Office.

Suddenly, everyone in the room noticed that he had walked in and immediately room's atmosphere changed to one of business and only business. Dad made his way across the room towards me.

"Ron, we know that someone like Lucius Malfoy doesn't do things like this."

"You think?" he replied sarcastically.

"His mention of The Jester makes me nervous." Hermione said next to him.

"It's not that that makes you nervous." Ron replied, turning to face her. "It's the connection he made with her and Voldemort."

"That has something to do with it." Hermione replied honestly. "Just get him to tell us what he knows."

"Will do, boss." he replied, noticing the sneer that he got from Robards for his slight.

The conversation over, Ron slowly turned towards the door. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open to see the ubiquitous Lucius Malfoy seated at the interrogation table. He had a grim look on his face as he stared at the floor, not even noticing that Ron had walked in.

Ron slowly approached the table and took a seat. Finally, Lucius noticed him and stopped his staring vigil to come back to the real world.

"Weasley." he said gruffly.

"Alright, Malfoy, you know how this works. I tell you what you did, you deny it even though there were 200 witnesses and then I corner you and you give me everything. Is there anyway that we can cut around all that bullshit and just get you tell me what you know?"

"Yes."

"What?" Ron asked in shock.

"Allow my son back into the country."

As Ron leaned back in his chair, he realized that he should have known this was going to be his play. Just after The Battle of Hogwarts, the Malfoy family was brought in for questioning in regards to their involvement with Lord Voldemort. When Kingsley brought them in, only Lucius and Narcissa showed up and Draco was nowhere to be found. Instantly, everyone suspected what had actually happened and that was that Draco, fearful of spending the rest of his life in Azkaban, fled the country to the mainland.

Sure enough, rumors of Draco Malfoy's appearance in Spain began to appear. Lucius and Narcissa gave as much information as they knew and were given one year sentences in the new minimum security section at Azkaban. They were released in seven months.

Meanwhile, Draco returned to London. However, the moment his presence was known, Kingsley called him in for questioning. Again, Draco fled the country back to his new home in Spain. As far as anyone knew, there had been no other attempts to bring him back and no other sightings of him.

"Tell him he has to submit for an interview with me." Ron replied.

"I'm afraid that as often as I tell my son that he must accept what jail time will come to him, he refuses to see reason. He will not accept any jail time for his actions."

"Then he won't come back to this country." Ron shot back stoutly.

"But, he will." Lucius replied roughly. "I have no intention of talking otherwise."

Instantly, Ron knew that he was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. While Arthur, and Kingsley before him, had been very clear about their desire to see Draco Malfoy stand for his crimes against the Ministry, Ron knew that this was more important.

"He can come back. He still gives the interview but he serves no jail time. He will be required to work as a scribe for the Wizengamot for a time of 18 months as community service."

"That will not do." Lucius replied blandly. "No Malfoy will ever be something like a scribe."

"That's the best deal he will get." Ron answered. "If he doesn't interview, you go to prison for the remainder of your life and I can ensure that you go to the maximum security section. No visitors, no packages, no conversations with the outside world."

"My son doesn't care about me that much."

"Am I supposed to feel sorry for you, Malfoy?" Ron growled. "You accept the deal and he does no jail time and I can ensure that you start in the low security wing. I may even be able to get you on a lesser charge. That's the best deal you're going to get. If I leave, I'm sure that my wife will come in here and you will get no deals and she will try and figure out any way she can to ensure that you die in Azkaban and probably not naturally."

Lucius leaned back in chair, staring at the same spot that he had been staring at earlier. In his own head, Ron wondered what could have convinced such a coniving man like Lucius Malfoy to do something like this. Finally, Lucius returned his gaze to Ron.

"One year as a scribe for Draco."

"18 months or nothing." Ron said, remaining strong.

"Fine." Lucius said dejectedly.

"Good. I'll have an owl sent to Draco." Ron replied, nodding to the people in the room behind him to start getting started on it. "Now, why did you kill The Frenchman?"

"Simply put: I was told to." Lucius replied darkly. "During the last days of The Dark Lord's reign, I was privy to a particularly strange moment. As we told you years ago, in the last days of the Dark Lord, my wife and I were not seen very highly by The Dark Lord. However, two days before The Battle of Hogwarts, he called myself, Narcissa and Bella into his chambers."

"Why?" Ron asked curiously.

"He told us of a new addition to his ranks, a woman by the name of Azoli Vinogradoff. He quickly explained that she was a Russian woman, a former Auror, who had grown disillusioned with her work and wished to join us. He allowed her to join us. However, he knew something of her past. Apparently, she and her own apprentice, the man known as The Frenchman, had been trained by someone that The Dark Lord had met during his years away."

"Who?" Ron asked urgently.

"We did not dare ask the Dark Lord such questions." Lucius replied, a visible chill running down his spine. "No, we simply listened. At the time, The Dark Lord had no inclination that he was about to be defeated. However, he ordered us that if either of them should begin to speak publically, that they were to be terminated."

"Why would he want that done?"

"I have no reason. However, I do believe that this woman and her apprentice, having been trained by one of the few people who knew The Dark Lord during his time away from England, knew something about The Dark Lord. Something that he wished to keep hidden. It was obvious to us that he trusted her and her partner less than he would have trusted us and that he was wary of having them near him."

"Alright, that's fine." Ron said, finishing to take notes. "The question remains: why did you go through with it? Voldemort has been dead for six years."

"He has, she has not." Lucius replied. "A week ago, she came to me. Somehow, she knew about our orders. She threatened to kill Narcissa and Draco if I did not go through with killing The Frenchman. I pleaded to her for nearly three days before realizing that the only way to protect my family would be to do it."

"Why did she want him killed?"

"As I am no doubt you know, she said that he was going to give away something called 'The Network.' While I do not know what this organization is, she has said that it is very important to her operation within England and Europe."

The Network. It connected her and The Frenchman, obviously. However, it now appeared that it may have connected Lord Voldemort to it as well. In his head, this was the only connection between the Jester and Voldemort that he could see. In his years away, Voldemort had met someone who also knew Azoli, although years later. It was through this mystery person that she knew so much about him. Ron couldn't wait for Harry and Cho to return from Russia so that they could go over this new information.

"Thank you, Lucius. I'll talk with Hermione and my father and see what kind of deal we can get you."

"Just get my son back in the country and I'll be happy." he replied with a scowl.

Ron rolled his eyes as he stood up and stepped out of the room. As he closed the door and waved his wand, preventing the door from opening and keeping Lucius from hearing their conversation, he turned to see Hermione and his father looking at him, simultaneously smiling and scowling, if that was even possible.

"Yes, I had to give him a deal that I know he doesn't deserve." Ron said, taking a deep breath while shaking his head. "I know, I know, I know. However, we know that there's something in here that we couldn't have known without his help. He'll serve 15 years in the low security wing at Azkaban and he'll be back out to see his grandchildren graduate from Hogwarts. Meanwhile, we'll be able to take this information to discover what exactly she knows about Voldemort and how they were connected. Without giving him that deal, we wouldn't have anything."

Suddenly, Hermione and his dad looked at each other and then broke out into a huge smile. As if water had been poured on his head, he realized what had happened.

"You're kidding me." he mumbled.

"Not at all!" Hermione said with a smile, leaning forward to hug Ron. "That was the best thing that could have happened! We just wanted to joke with you a bit!"

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Weasley?" Ron said with a grin as he turned back to the door.

Stepping inside, he saw that Lucius had resumed staring at the floor. Clearing his throat, he was able to get his attention.

"We will get you for accessory to murder. 15 years in the low security wing."

"Fantastic." Lucius replied blandly.

"Right." Ron said as he closed the door again before turning to Hermione and Arthur. "We need to get Harry here and now."

* * *

**March 19**

**9:22 AM**

**The Office of the Minister of Magic**

After finishing their trip back from Russia, Harry and Cho had been called into the office of Arthur Weasley. With them was Ron, Hermione, Robards, Percy and Kingsley. Together, they told their story about the trial of the Frenchman and his subsequent murder. Ron spent the next thirty minutes outlining his interrogation of Lucius Malfoy and what he had learned.

When he was finished, Harry took his turn, telling them the story of their adventure to The Jester's home and their revelation at the Russian Ministry.

"Superior?" Arthur asked. "What could that mean?"

"It could mean a couple things. It could mean that The Jester and Grindelwald were on the same level with Voldemort one level above them and he's the superior that is mentioned in the letter."

"It could mean something else entirely, though." Hermione added. "It could mean that Voldemort, Grindelwald and The Jester were all on the same level and that there is some mystery person controlling the three of them."

"We can't rule it out." Harry replied. "We all can't rule out that while there may be a connection between Vinogradoff and Voldemort, that it has absolutely nothing to do with The Network."

"We just need more information." Kingsley said softly. "We know enough about The Jester. However, our information on Voldemort's time away from England and Grindelwald is severly lacking."

"Information on both of them is going to be nearly impossible to get." Hermione replied. "We can send someone to Albania but odds are that Voldemort left nothing there."

"Information on Grindelwald is going to be even more difficult to find. At least we have relatively secure dates for when Riddle left and came back." Harry said. "We have little to no idea where Grindelwald was at any time."

In his head, Harry was disappointed with this information. While it was good information, there was almost no research that could be done to back it up or continue to make connections. They really were at a dead end.

"If only Dumbledore were here," Arthur replied. "if there was anyone that knew Grindelwald and any information about him. It would be him."

Very true. While looking up Rita Skeeter may also not be a bad idea, only Dumbledore would truly know the information they were looking for. Unfortunately for them, Dumbledore was gone and there was no way to brin-

"Wait a minute!" Harry said abruptly. "What if we could talk to Dumbledore, if only for a minute?

"Harry, what are you talking about?" Cho asked next to him.

"We need to talk to Dumbledore and there are least two ways that I can think of to talk to him."

"How?" Ron asked.

"The first and easiest is his portrait in the Headmaster's Office. The second is...more difficult."

"More difficult?"

"The Resurrection Stone." Hermione said firmly. "Harry, you know that's not what it's meant for."

"Hermione, I honestly can't tell you what it is meant for. But I can't imagine any better use for it than this." Harry said as he stood up. "Is Professor McGonagall still in charge?"

"Through July." Arthur replied. "She's retiring at the end of this year."

"Fantastic. I've fancied a visit back to Hogwarts since my return. Now, I have an excuse."

* * *

**March 20**

**9:13 AM**

**Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry**

Harry walked into the front doors of Hogwarts for the first time since he had "graduated" after The Battle of Hogwarts. While he had been back on the grounds numerous times for various memorial services since then, he had never had the need to return to the inside of the school. However, there was a part of Harry that did acknowledge that he may have been avoiding it for entirely different reasons.

After the Battle, the governors of Hogwarts were faced with two options. First, they could have remodeled the building, choosing to work around the massive damage caused by the Battle. Secondly, they could have rebuilt the school exactly as it had been before. The first option was a much cheaper option but there was a large portion of the wizarding population that wanted to see the school (and the wizarding world) return to its former glory.

Hearing that crowd and reacting to it, the governors decided to spend millions of Galleons and rebuild the school to exactly as it had been before. It had taken nearly one year to build and another six months to redo the enchantments but eventually, the school returned to life. For Harry, going back inside meant bringing back old memories, ones that he wasn't sure he ever wanted to relive.

However, after six years, Harry finally felt that he could relive the days of Lord Voldemort again. So, he entered the school and immediately noticed something that had not been there during his time at school.

Standing in the center of the entrance hall was an enormous bronze statue of Harry and Albus Dumbledore standing side by side with Ron and Hermione and Severus Snape behind them. As Harry approached it, he noticed that this version of him was the clothing he had worn the day of The Battle of Hogwarts. Looking at the statue, he saw a plaque towards the bottom. Stepping in closer to it, Harry read.

_On May 2, 1998, the decisive battle for The Second Wizarding War was fought. On this day, The Death Eaters, led by Lord Voldemort, attacked the school in search of Harry Potter. Harry Potter, missing for 9 months, appeared at Hogwarts with members of Dumbledore's Army and The Order of the Phoenix to defend the school. For hours, the Death Eaters bombarded the school, but the defenders of the school held firm._

_Finally, Harry sacrificed himself for the sake of the rest of the school. However, something about The Dark Lord's magic failed and Harry survived. After his survival, Harry confronted Lord Voldemort and, in a twist of fate, destroyed him with his own curse._

_Harry Potter, along with Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger and Severus Snape, were awarded Order of Merlin, First Class for their efforts in destroying Lord Voldemort._

_To Harry Potter, The Chosen One, The Boy-Who-Lived, for protecting us all and sacrificing himself in our time of need, we thank you and we are forever in your debt._

Harry stood in shock at the words as he read them again, slower this time. He wanted to make sure that he read them properly. After all, he had been named a menace to society only four years ago. Suddenly, Harry noticed small print down at the bottom of the plaque. Leaning forward, he noticed the text.

_Erected May 2, 2003_

One year ago. It had been erected after his trials.

"They put it up last year."

Suddenly, Harry remembered that he hadn't been alone. Suddenly, Harry flipped around in place and saw Hermione standing behind him. When he had told the others that he was going to Hogwarts, she had instantly volunteered to go with him. While Harry didn't really want her to come with him, he was also aware that he didn't really want to go alone. Plus, he knew why she wanted to go and he wanted to try and make things right with her as well.

"Why?" Harry asked in shock.

"Because I told them to." she said with a sly grin. "That's not entirely true. There was talk of putting it up. I just encouraged it. I also made sure that Snape got added."

"I don't understand. Everyone hates me. How did it even come up?"

"No one hates you, Harry."

"Amos Diggory does." Harry replied roughly.

"True." Hermione said with a smile. "But mostly people hated the war and were looking for a place to put their blame. Voldemort was dead and so you were the next best thing."

"You helped them." Harry said simply.

"I did. I did my job and that meant I was supposed to give my opinion. My opinion hasn't changed, even six years later. We could have done more."

"We could have." Harry said softly. "I know that we could have."

"I'm so sorry I didn't let you know beforehand." Hermione pleaded, putting her hand on his face. "I didn't even think about it. I was so obsessed with doing the right thing that I didn't feel like I needed to tell you."

"And I was so obsessed with you selling me out that I didn't stop to think that maybe you were just doing the right thing."

Suddenly, Harry stopped seeing Hermione Weasley, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and member of The Committee of Inquires into The Events at Hogwarts on May 2, 1998 and The Battle Between Lord Voldemort and His Cohorts vs. Harry Potter, The Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army and Various Cohorts.

Instead, he saw Hermione Granger, his best friend in the whole world and the girl who helped him through The Triwizard Tournament, The Department of Mysteries and the Horcrux Hunt. He saw the girl that he had fallen in and out of love with after the war. He saw the one person in the world who he had always trusted. It was in this moment that Harry finally realized what he had missed.

"I'm so sorry." he said softly. "I really am."

"I'm sorry, too." Hermione replied. "I never should have said those things, not out loud anyway."

"You should have, 'Mione. I should have realized you were doing your job."

Suddenly, Harry felt Hermione wrap her arms around him and pull her in close. He hadn't been this close to her in years. But at this point, that didn't matter. What matter is that Harry had his friends back. Just like Voldemort said, Harry was nothing without his friends.

"Mr. Potter?"

Harry and Hermione broke apart and turned to see Headmaster Minerva McGonagall walking down the main stairs towards them. Other than the cane that she used to walk now, time had been kind of her. She looked almost identical to what she had looked like when Harry had last seen her at the final memorial that Harry had attended.

"And Mrs. Weasley? I'm surprised to see the two of you together. Last I had heard, the two of you were not speaking." she said as she reached them at the bottom of the stairs.

"Well, things have changed." Harry replied as he shook the elder witch's hand.

"It seems so." she replied. "Now, you said that you needed to meet with the Headmaster. I am confused as to why it was worded that way."

"Well, we need to speak with Albus." Hermione replied shortly as they began to walk up the stairs.

"Really? May I ask why?"

"We need information on Grindelwald." Harry answered.

"Grindelwald? Well, then I can see why Albus would be your first choice. However, I imagine that his portrait will not be able to give you this information." Professor McGonagall replied.

"We have a backup plan." Harry said cryptically.

"I'm sure you do."

Several minutes later, after a slow climb, the three of them reached the gargoyle in front of the Headmaster's Office. Unlike the last time that Harry had seen it, it wasn't sitting on the floor, but instead back on the wall where it had been before.

"Evening, Headmaster."

"Evening." she replied as it opened up wide.

"No password?" Hermione asked as they marched up the stairs.

"I changed the enchantment. It recognizes me and all those that I would allow in my office."

"Interesting." Hermione replied.

Finally, the three of them reached the top of the stairs. Instantly, Harry noticed that the dreariness of Snape's reign had disappeared. While the room wasn't full of trinkets and small magical machines, it certainly wasn't as dark. There were some pictures of her and what Harry assumed were her husband, although Harry wasn't certain if he was alive and he also wasn't going to ask.

However, Harry did notice that the pictures around him had returned to their portraits, again unlike the changes he had seen during Snape's time here. Specifically, it was the portraits of Snape and Dumbledore that Harry noticed. While Harry had been the reason that Snape had a portrait here, he had never seen it.

"The prodigal son returns." Snape said drolly. "I'm sure that we are supposed to celebrate."

"Quiet, Snape." McGonagall said, rolling her eyes as she sat in her chair. "Albus, they're here to talk to you."

"Wonderful." Albus said with a smile directly above her. "What can I do for you, Harry?"

"Professor, I need information on Grindelwald." Harry said firmly. "Specifically, I need to know if he ever had any connection to Voldemort."

"I'm sorry, Harry. But this version of me only has limited information on him." Dumbledore replied, a sad look in his eyes.

"That's alright, Professor. We didn't figure that you would know. Besides, we have a back-up plan." Harry replied.

"Be careful, Harry." Dumbledore replied knowingly. "You gave that away for good reasons. Be wary of returning to it."

"Trust me, Professor." Hermione said. "I've already told him it's a bad idea."

"It is not a bad idea, Mrs. Weasley. Far from it, it is a wonderful idea. It is also a very risky one."

"I've weighed the risk versus the reward. It's worth it." Harry answered.

"Then I am sure that things will go well, Harry." Dumbledore replied before suddenly standing up and walking out of the frame. Apparently, he was done talking.

With that conversation done, Harry and Hermione stood and, after bidding farewell to Headmaster McGonagall, began making their way down to the grounds. As they did, Harry looked around him and was amazed that he saw no signs of the Battle. In fact, the castle managed to look just as old and dingy as it had in the past.

"Spellwork. The Ministry thought that they needed to return the inside of the school as it was before. So, Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall worked their magic and was able to artificially age the castle to look like it had before." Hermione informed him.

"That's amazing." Harry replied in awe.

"It certainly is." she replied as they reached the large entrance archway that led to the grounds.

Suddenly, Harry realized what it was going to take to find the Resurrection Stone. He was going to have to do what he could to retrace the steps that he had taken on his way to sacrificing himself to Lord Voldemort. Even after all these years, Hermione was still able to instinctively react to what she saw in Harry.

"I'm here with you, Harry." she replied observantly.

Obviously, he hadn't done a good job of hiding his apprehension. It wasn't that Harry was afraid of the Forbidden Forest. Far from it. He hadn't been that frightened by it the first time he had entered the Forest at age 11. No, it was that he knew that he was going to be forced to relive every emotion that he had felt when he had entered the Forest.

At the time, he had thought that he was done. He knew that he would never see Ron or Ginny or Hermione or anyone else ever again. But, he had been ready. The only thing that he had regretted was that the last thing he would see was the snarling victory on the face of Tom Riddle.

But, Harry had been lucky or maybe it was destiny. He had survived, against all odds, to live another day. Not that the war didn't have its effects on him.

"I know, 'Mione. I appreciate it." Harry replied shortly.

Finally, they reached the edge of the Forest. Taking a deep breath, Harry led her in. Suddenly, it all came back to Harry and within moments, Harry was finding places all over the place that he remembered from his trek into the woods. Within several minutes, Harry walked into an opening that he would have recognized with his eyes closed.

However, he didn't have his eyes closed. He couldn't have closed them if he wanted to. Instead, he stared at the opening where he had been killed, only to come back moments later. It was exactly as he remembered it. It seemed as if a throne had been fashioned at the end with a ledge above it where the Death Eaters had stood.

Directly in front of him was where he had knelt to the ground. This memory was burned into his mind. He had remembered how Riddle had ordered him to the ground, like an animal to be slaughtered.

Harry's silence hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Is this it, Harry?" she whispered, almost as if she was afraid to be heard.

"Yes." Harry replied, his voice barely finding him. "This is it."

Harry turned away from the opening to the small path that he had entered the opening from. Knowing that he had dropped the Stone there, he knelt down and began to search. Surprisingly, the Stone was not difficult to find. It appeared that it had been pushed up against a tree and as such, it simply rested on top of the earth there.

With a small shake in his hand, Harry reached down and picked up the Stone, dusting the small layer of dirt that rested on the Stone.

"Are you certain that we need to do this?" Hermione asked nervously.

"It's our only option." Harry replied firmly. "We'll go as quickly as possible."

Hesitating only a moment, Harry turned his hand over three times. In a flash, the spirit of Albus Dumbledore appeared from nowhere. Hermione squealed briefly with shock as the deceased Headmaster stood in front of them.

_"Harry, young man, what have you done?" _he asked in shock.

"Albus, this will be brief." Harry replied with authority. "We need information.

_"I will do what I can for you."_

"Did you know if there was ever a connection between Lord Voldemort and Grindelwald?"

_"There was no connection that I know of, Harry. However, I do not know everything of my old friend's life. To my own fault, I stayed away from him even after he was captured."_

"Well how could we find out?" Hermione asked, bravery seeming to find her.

_"Grindelwald lived in a massive home, a castle, in the deep woods of France. If there is any information to be had, it would be there."_

"Thank you, Professor." Harry replied with a warm smile.

_"You are most welcome, Harry." _Professor Dumbledore replied before fading away into nothing.

* * *

**8:31 PM**

**Potter Manor**

After spending the day working on arranging a visit to the French Ministry for later that week, Harry invited all of the Weasleys and Cho to his house after a long day. Potter Manor had been owned by his parent's. However, they were not living there when they were murdered and he wasn't able to inherit it until his 17th birthday by which point, he had other things to worry about.

When the war finished, the goblins of Gringotts made him aware of his home. Instantly, he moved from his small flat in Diagon Alley to his massive family home in the country. He took Kreacher with him and hired Winky, the former house elf of Bartimeus Crouch to work for him. The pair had kept themselves busy annoying each other and cleaning the house during Harry's time away and they were both overjoyed to see that their master had returned home, especially since he was going to be bringing guests soon.

"How is the investigation going?" Arthur asked as Kreacher began to serve dinner. "I was told by Percy that you made a trip to Moscow this week."

"We did." Harry answered. "We found out that I was right to be paranoid. Vitali Osin was working with her."

"Seriously? Of all people, I would have thought that he was safe from her." he replied.

"Me too. Unfortunately, just like Voldemort, Vinogradoff is proving to be very persuasive." Harry replied. "However, I think we will find her."

"Good. Can we stop talking about it, then?" Ron replied, a plate full of food in front of him. "I know a lot may have changed. But talking about depressing things during dinner is never a good idea."

"The man's got a point." George added next to him, hungrily looking at the plate in front of him.

"Then, by all means, dig in." Harry said from the end of the table.

Instantly, Harry was transported back to his days in the Great Hall of Hogwarts watching the Weasley stuff their faces. He was also taken back to several feasts at the Weasley home. However, things weren't exactly the same. Ginny had brought Dean with her, as much as it looked like the two were fighting again as they hadn't said a single word to each other all evening. Charlie remained in Romania and Bill in Egypt, neither looking to come home any time soon. However, there was one seat that was permanently vacant and another that was unlikely to be filled, the seats of Fred and Molly. Harry gazed sadly around the room, noticing how much destruction had been caused in this room. The weight of it all made his heart heavy and he wished beyond all wishes that if there was one family he could have saved, it would have been the one that had taken him in.

Alas, they could not be saved and Harry knew better that to hope falsely that anything about that could change. All Harry had to do was remember back to third year when he had been convinced that he had seen his father save them. Obviously, it had been impossible but Harry had hoped beyond hope. While in the end he was glad to know that it was him, he was also saddened to know that it was not his father returned from the grave. This thought, while it had been buried by the knowledge of Sirius Black and his true identity, weighed heavily on his heart and on his mind for a long time.

However, things were not all bad. While there had been damage done by Lord Voldemort and by himself, there were new additions. Despite their constant bickering, Dean and Ginny normally appeared to be very happy with each other, regardless what Ginny might have said. Harry noticed the addition of Angelina Johnson, now Angelina Weasley and George's wife, which had made Harry very happy. Reports were that Charlie had found himself a very special girl in Romania, which was much of the reason he was choosing to stay there. Percy had started dating a woman named Audrey who he had worked with years ago in the Ministry.

But, it was the happiness that he saw between Ron and Hermione that had truly lightened his mood. He knew that things between the two of them had been rough during his time away, both of them had told him so themselves. While Harry never thought of himself as very important, he knew that his absence had done something. Maybe he was the release they both needed from each other whenever they were upset? If he was, he would do his best in the future to be that person.

And how were things for him? Truthfully, Harry wasn't sure. He was glad he was back, that he was certain of. However, he knew that he wasn't happy chasing Dark witches and wizards around anymore. Simply put, that did not make him happy like it had in the past. He no longer held the personal connection with these evildoers that he had held with Voldemort and his Death Eaters. But, being back home did make him happy and being around his friends made him happier.

The newest addition to the room was the most curious for Harry, though. Cho Chang had been such a brief and largely unremarkable part to his life when he looked back on his life. In fact, a year after the Battle, he had expressed how that period of his life was when he felt the most like a normal teenager. While he was constantly being mentioned in the Daily Prophet, he was doing what he could to win the heart of the girl that he liked. It was the most normal thing he had done up until that point.

But, it wasn't meant to be. Cho placed her trust and her support in another and Harry couldn't stand for that. Even years later, Harry could still feel the sting anytime anyone brought up her name. However, in recent weeks, that had changed. Now, he felt a little bit like he was fifteen years old again. He enjoyed her presence more and more each day. Was there something there? Harry couldn't be sure but what he did know was that he certainly was enjoying the time they were spending together.

Suddenly, Harry felt himself standing, a glass raised high in his hand.

"To those of you who are here tonight, I thank you for coming. I also apologize for my behavior. I ran from my problems instead of facing them and when the time came that you needed me, I was not here." Harry said firmly. "To those of us who are not here, we miss you."

"Cheers, mate." Ron said sadly next to him, a tear falling down his face.

As Harry looked around the room, he met the eyes of every single person. He hoped the look he gave was how he was feeling. He wanted each of them know to that he loved them all, that they were his family and that he would never leave them again.

Never again would he leave the world he knew behind.

* * *

**9:00 PM**

**Somewhere in Paris**

He had known that she was coming. He had sensed her when she Apparated down the street. He had sensed her when she reached the doorstep and he had sensed her as she climbed the six sets of stairs to the room he stood in now. He stood, facing out the window and looking out on the cold Parisian night, as she entered the room.

_"I believe that I told you never to come here."_

That voice had not been spoken, at least not by his voice. Instead, it had been a thought pushed into her mind. Just like it had done every other time, it stripped away her vicious facade and showed the true person underneath. The moment she heard the voice, she knelt the ground and averted her eyes as she should have.

"My apologies, Master." she said, her voice trembling with fear. "I have news."

"And what news is that?" he replied without looking at her.

"Your home on the Siberian Sea has burned to the ground."

Suddenly, without a single movement from him, The Jester was picked up from her place and thrown against the wall where she then remained. The pressure that kept her pinned there slowly pushed the air out of her, forcing to her to start gasping for air.

"I gave you that house so that you could protect its secrets and learn from it. Pray tell me, how can you do that if the house has been burned to the ground?"

"I didn't know that Potter would know how to cast Everlasting Fire?" she replied weakly as the air began to leave her.

"I find your lack of respect for Potter disturbing. You attempt to attack him at his home and fail. You leave my home to do whatever it is that you do and he burns it down. Do you wish to prove yourself better than him?"

"YES!" she attempted to shout but all that came out was a rough whisper.

"Then, respect your opponent." he replied.

Suddenly, she fell to the floor. While the pressure on her body relaxed, the pressure on her throat increased.

"What else do they know?"

"Cast-c-castle." she gasped.

"Grindelwald's?" he asked.

A cough and a nod that he didn't need to see gave him his answer. So, Potter and his gang had discovered the connection. Maybe Potter was just as good as he thought he was.

"What will they have to do?"

"F-f-f-renc-c-ch Mini-i-m-inistry." she whispered, only a hint of air left in her voice. "C-c-c-o-mmme he-rr-r-re..."

"They will come here then? That is certainly an interesting development." the man said darkly.

Then, without a hint of motion, he appeared in front of her. He watched as her eyes began to roll into the back of her head and her face turned purple and blue. Finally, just moments before she would have passed out, he released her. Coughing and hacking, she collapsed to the floor, doing everything she could to pull in air.

Slowly, he leaned down in towards her and breathed into her ear.

"That is your one and only mistake, Azoli. Fail me again and there will be no mercy." he growled.

"I understand." she whispered through her sobs. "I will not fail you again, Master."

"I expect not." he replied formally as he stood.

He slowly turned around and walked deliberately back towards the window. When he reached it, he stared out into the open air of Paris as the lights of the Muggle town shined bright.

"You are coming to me, Harry Potter, and you will join me." he whispered softly to himself so that no one else could hear it. "You will join me or all of your friends will suffer and _then_, you will join me."


	14. XIV

_A/N: I typically don't use these at the beginning of chapters but for this I'll break tradition. Numerous reviewers have suggested that I've done a disservice to this story by allowing Harry to forgive Hermione or forgive her so quickly. While I understand what you are saying, I respectfully disagreed. Remember that Harry had been gone for four years prior to the start of this story. That's a long time. While he was still angry at the beginning of the story, I think that a lot of the real sting had been taken out of his feelings for her. I can't ask you to simply accept my story decisions. However, I can say that I've written this story how **I **feel like it would have happened. If you don't like the story, don't read it. Otherwise, please stick to providing helpful commentary in your reviews._

_For those of you that are enjoying the story, also let me know. This is easily the longest chapter I've ever written and I hope it's up to your standards._

* * *

**March 24**

**12:26 PM**

**The Harpies' Haven**

**Holyhead, Wales**

After four days of milling around his office, Harry was certainly ready to leave for France. However, both Arthur and Percy wouldn't authorize him to leave for another week. Apparently, his venture into Russia had attracted some attention, especially with the ever burning fire that he had left on the coast of the Siberian Sea that the Russian Ministry couldn't put out. So, Harry was stuck going through run of the mill days, looking for more information but knowing he was going to find none.

He had spent a lot of time with Ron, Hermione and Cho over the past few days and he could certainly say that while his hunt of The Jester was almost always on his mind, he had had more fun that he could remember for a long time with them. Another trip to a bar had left Harry carrying a carried away Cho back to her apartment for the second time. The next morning, for the same time in as many weeks, Cho Chang swore off alcohol altogether. Harry chuckled to himself, knowing that she would be back eventually.

But, what Harry was looking forward to most was happening today: the season final between the Holyhead Harpies and the Puddlemore United. The match was to be held between the two highest scoring teams in league history. This was a fact that almost everyone celebrated the two clubs for. However, Harry just saw it as neither teams had a good Seeker who could win the match before things got out of hands.

This was mostly true. The Seeker of the Harpies was Galvin Gudgeon, a transfer from Chudley who was famous for being the only Seeker in recent memory to have the Snitch bounce off his face...twice. The only reason that Gudgeon was playing was because starting Seeker Gwen Gingrich had broken her arm after a 75 foot fall in the first match of the season and had been too terrified to get back on a broom.

On the other side, things were barely better. The United's seeker, Jonathan Brower, was one of the worst flyers in league history. Routinely, he hit the goals at either end of the pitch. From what Harry heard, the only reason they kept him around was because he was prone to suddenly flying like Viktor Krum or Aidan Lynch. The risk was worth the reward.

As Harry, Cho and the rest of the Weasleys climbed to the Top Box for the match, Harry recollected on his various Quidditch memories. It was then that he realized just how much he had missed the sport. Just the feeling of a broomstick the few days before was like heaven. He couldn't imagine what the rush of chasing after the Snitch would feel like but he knew it would be fantastic.

Harry took his seat in between Arthur and Cho in the front of the Top Box. The last time that Harry had been in this box had been the last game that Ginny had played before she had tried to kill herself. She had scored eight goals, each of them equally insane, as she led her team to victory. After the game, she had approached Harry asking him to take her back. He had politely refused and left by himself. Only two hours later, he got that horrible letter.

Flashing back to the present, Harry watched as the Harpies trained. Over the past few weeks, Ginny's playing time had stared to stabilize and she had taken an already good season and turned in into one that could have her named league MVP for the first time after having already been named an All-Star for the second time in her career. In fact, the announcement was supposed to occur before the game today and Harry was greatly looking forward to it.

Suddenly, Harry was shaken from his thoughts when he noticed that Arthur was no longer sitting next to him. Instead, it was an incredibly wealthy looking man. He looked tall, despite being seated, with white hair, slicked back, and the most neatly trimmed silver beard that Harry had ever seen. His eyes were grey but in a way that wasn't threatening at all. His cloak was as black as black could be and he wore white robes underneath them, showing off a great deal of contrast.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter." he said formally. "I hope I did not startle you."

"You did a bit, if I'm honest. I'm sorry but I'm afraid I don't know who you are."

"Forgive me, where are my manners? My name is Ian Young." he said, extending his hand towards Harry. Harry took his hand and shook it firmly. While Harry couldn't place the face, the name certainly sounded familiar.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Young, but I can't think of where I should know you from." Harry replied honestly.

"No bother, dear boy, none at all." Ian replied excitedly. "You may know me as a fringe member of the Wizengamot. However, I am probably more widely known as the new owner of the Pride of Portree Quidditch Club."

Now Harry knew where he had heard, or rather read, that name. Ian Young was one of the wealthiest wizards in the country. He did sit on the Wizengamot but only rarely did he vote or express his influence. In the past, he had been a partial owner of Zonko's Joke Shop and The Three Broomsticks. Now, he was going to be using his immense wealth to bring one of the most boring Quidditch clubs to life. At least, that's what he had said.

"Now, I remember!" Harry said excitedly. "Congratulations on your purchase!"

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. I had hoped to talk to you about it a bit." he replied, a bit more business-like than in the past.

"That's fine." Harry replied firmly. "What can I do for you?"

"I would like you to be the starting Seeker for the Pride of Portree next season."

Suddenly, Harry's mind went blank. While he certainly loved Quidditch, he had never actually consider it as an option for a career. He had been quite good, aside from the frequent accidents he seemed to take part in, if he did say so.

"Mr. Young-"

"Ian." he corrected Harry.

"Ian," Harry replied properly. "I haven't played Quidditch competitively since January of 1997. I practiced for awhile after that and I can still fly but I guarantee I would be rusty at best, totally useless at worst."

"Mr. Potter, the Pride need a boost. Four of the teams starters have left the team to join other clubs already and I'm having a real struggle keeping the others. The Pride of Portree has been a model of mediocrity for years. I want you to change that. If you come in and you feel out of shape or we think it won't work, we pull you and no one ever knows that you even worked with us. But, if you get out there and you feel how I think you feel, we sign you."

"Ian, I don't really-"

"Don't tell me you don't need the money, Potter." he replied firmly. "We all know how broke you were, and probably are. You let someone write a book about you, for Merlin's sake."

"When do I do this tryout then, if I'm interested?" Harry added hastily. He was definitely interested. What Cho had said a while back had truly stuck with him. When this was all over, he didn't have to keep chasing Dark wizards around the rest of the world. He could be whatever he wanted. For the time being, Chaser or Seeker sounded a lot better than Auror.

"Send me an owl and we can set up a time. You'll have to meet with our manager and work out for her but I don't see that being a problem. We will probably work you in a number of positions to start with, depending on what open players we can get. Do you have any problem with that?"

"I hate Keeper. Other than that, I"m game." Harry answered.

"Well, if you sign, we shouldn't have to worry about that much." Ian said with a grin. "We have one of the best keepers in the league who's already agreed to sign if you sign."

"Who?" Harry asked curiously.

"You know him, played with him even."

"Oliver?"

"The one and the same." Ian replied. "He's said that if you join, he'll sign over from Puddlemore."

"Fantastic." Harry replied.

Ian looked like he was going to say more but suddenly, a voice rang over the whole stadium.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the season final between the Holyhead Harpies and the Puddlemore United!"

"Look's like we'll get to see our boy in action!" Ian said with a shout as he stood. "Send me an owl when you're ready and we'll work with you, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you, Mr. Young." Harry said as he allowed Ian to walk away, turning to fix his eyes on the stage that had been set up in the middle of the pitch. Both teams stood lining the sides of the stage while a man stood in the center, speaking to the crowd.

"Again, we welcome you this evening and both clubs thank you for your support!" the announcer said, his voice magically magnified over the crowd. "Now, before we get to the match, we have ourselves a bit of an announcement to make!"

Harry couldn't remember being this nervous. Not for a long time anyway. He pulled out his Omnioculars and aimed them towards Ginny. Unlike him, she appeared to be totally cool. He was impressed with her ability to be completely calm in a situation like this.

"Tradition states that the league's Most Valuable Player will be announced now! But first, some information on this player! This player played in all twenty of her teams matches, scoring 130 goals for a whopping 6.5 goals per match. This player caught the Snitch on two separate occasions as a back-up Seeker and scored a league record 22 goals in one match against the Chudley Cannons!"

Harry heard Ron audibly scoff as this was announced. In his youth, Ron's Cannons had been terrible. However, with new ownership including George Weasley, they were certainly on their way back up. Rarely now did something like this happen.

"Playing in her fifth year in the league, your Most Valuable Player is two-time All-Star Ginevra Weasley!"

The entire stadium stood and applauded as Ginny stepped forward to accept the trophy. For years, Harry had always thought that he would be the one for her, the one that would be there to love her and congratulate her after the match for her accomplishments. It was with a small measure of sadness that Harry realized that he and Ginny were still friends, just nothing more.

"Now, onto the match!" the announcer said and with a wave of his wand, the stage disappeared and both teams were standing on the ground. "And now you're teams! First, for the United! I give you Brower, Hoffman, Snyder, Bell, Conrad and Wood!"

Instantly, the United team leapt onto their brooms and took off into the night, taking their places for the match.

"And on the Harpies side, we have Gudgeon, Hanson, Zimmerman, Grant! In her final game as a Harpie, two-time league MVP and twelve-time All-Star, Gwenog Jones! Finally, your reigning league MVP and two-time All Star, Ginny Weasley!"

Once their team was announced, the Harpies took off as well. However, before Ginny went to her place, she raced up along the Top Box, highfiving her family and friends. When she got to Harry, she stopped to hug him.

"Congratulations, Ginny." Harry whispered in her ear.

"I knew you would be here when I finally won it." she replied before pulling away with a tear in her eyes.

"Go get 'em, Gin!" Harry shouted as she saluted the stadium and turned back to take her place on the pitch.

The moment Ginny took her place, the referee for the match, a older man named Gordon Harper, flew out onto the pitch. Within seconds, he released the balls and the match began. As Harry watched, he couldn't imagine flying that fast, much less pick out the Snitch in all the chaos that was in front of him.

However, his old Seeker eyes did pick up something, proving that he may not have been as out of practice as he thought. Just a minute after the match started, he saw the golden glint of the Snitch dive as Gudgeon and Brower followed it. Harry stood and watched as the two Seeker dove over two hundred feet. Finally, Brower pulled back just as Ginny pull a goal in passed Wood that no one saw because they were watching Gudgeon perform either one of the greatest or most terrifying things they would ever see.

Suddenly, just feet before Gudgeon hit the ground, he pulled up, his hands raised high. Sure enough, Harry saw that he had the Snitch in hand. As the referee checked to make sure that he had the real Snitch, the announcement was made.

"With a score of 160-0, the Holyhead Harpies have won the Quidditch League Cup!"

Harry realized that he had just watched one of the quickest matches in League history. Standing with the rest of the Weasleys, he clapped until his hands were sore as Ginny flew back up to the Top Box with the League Cup in her hands. As Harry celebrated with the rest of them, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Ian Young smiling behind him.

"That'll be us next year, son." he said.

"Get her." Harry said, nodding towards Ginny. "Get her and it could be."

* * *

**March 27**

**3:12 PM**

**Pride Pitch**

**Portree, Scotland**

Three days after Ginny's match and the day before he was scheduled to leave for France with Ron, Harry had woken up early in the morning and secretly sent an owl to Ian, telling him that he was ready for his tryout. After waiting for several hours for a reply, Harry finally saw an owl flying towards his home. When the owl arrived, it simply told him a time (3:30 PM) and a place (Pride Pitch).

So, when the time came, Harry couldn't help but arrive early. So, Harry took his Thunderbolt out of the small carrying case he had brought it in and took off gently. As Harry floated around in a Quidditch pitch for the first time in years, Harry had a massive feeling of deja vu. On and off for six years, Harry had been the star Seeker for the Gryffindor team. Then, it just stopped and he hadn't put much time into thinking about it ever again.

Suddenly, Harry got a sudden urge. Flying high into the sky, he crested his climb at nearly six hundred feet in the air. Floating for a moment, Harry pushed the nose of the broomstick directly down. Within seconds, Harry was pushed into a perfectly vertical dive. Within seconds, Harry's eyes, not protected by goggles, were watering and through it, Harry could barely see the ground coming up quickly. However, just moments before he would have crashed into the ground for a certain and grizzly death, he pulled out of the dive, leveling himself out and screaming across the flat surface of the pitch.

Harry finished his run with a few rolls and a couple flips before landing gracefully back on the soft grass. As he landed, he suddenly heard the sound of applause. Startled, Harry looked up to the top of the bleachers to see Ian Young and a young woman, the manager Harry assumed, applauding him as they climbed down the bleachers.

"Rusty, Mr. Potter? I think not." he said as he reached the bottom, walking onto the pitch towards Harry.

"Need to remember goggles next time." Harry replied, shaking the man's hand. It wasn't until he turned to the manager to shake her hand before he realized who she was.

"Gwenog Jones?" Harry asked in surprise.

"One and the same." she said firmly. "Ian knew I was retiring and offered me the manager's job here. He said that his new team captain was going to be marvelous. I'm surprised, Potter. You flew much better than I remember."

"Remember?" Harry asked.

"I watched one of your matches your sixth year. I was scouting Ginny Weasley. We had heard good things about her from a few people and so I came to take a look. You fly pretty well."

"It's all in the broom." Harry replied sheepishly.

"I see that." Gwenog replied looking down at the broom. "The new Thunderbolt. That will definitely be an advantage."

"Yes, it will." Ian replied with a hungry smile on his face. "Now, Harry, do you mind doing a little more flying for us?"

"Of course."

Harry spent the next forty minutes flying circles around the pitch, catching everything that was thrown his way. In fact, as time went on, Harry almost become bored by the monotony of it. Thankfully, Gwenog had a surprise for him. On her last throw, she threw a Muggle baseball up in the air. However, she then took her wand out and, with a wave, created 11 copies of it. Instantly, Harry knew the challenge and raced to catch all of them, which he did successfully.

Harry landed to another fanfare of happy applause. As he approached them, he could see they both had smiles on their faces.

"You may be one the most natural flyers I've ever seen, Potter." Gwenog said brightly. "And that's coming from me."

"Mr. Potter, I believe we need to work on a contract." Ian said, extending his hand for yet another handshake. The man certainly did like his handshakes.

"I have a couple things I would like to ask first." Harry said nervously. Unlike when he made his demands with Arthur and Hermione, Harry didn't feel like he had the right to ask what he was going to. But, he felt that he needed to.

"Fire away!" Ian replied excitedly.

"First, my contract can't start until I finish with my investigation with the Ministry." Harry said firmly.

"Done." Ian replied happily. "We need you there more than we need you here right now."

"Thanks. Second, give Oliver whatever he wants. He's the best keeper I've ever played with."

"Also done." Ian answered. "In fact, Oliver is schedule to come in later today to sign his contract. Anything else, Mr. Potter?"

"One more. Spend whatever you want on whoever you want. But, I want Ginny Weasley on this team."

This was the point that Harry knew was the least likely to go over well. At least from the standpoint that Ginny and Gwenog had their immense differences and he knew that it would be difficult to get them to work together.

"No." Gwenog said. "Absolutely not. Ginny Weasley is a head case."

"Ginny Weasley is not a head case." Harry replied violently. "Ginny, after losing her brother and countless other people she knew at Hogwarts, felt abandoned by the one person she had counted on most: me. Now, regardless of whether she was right or not, she has righted her ship and she won the league MVP last season."

"That doesn't matter. She doesn't play or I don't coach." Gwenog replied bluntly.

Harry turned to Ian.

"You do everything you can to sign Ginny Weasley or I don't play. If Ginny decides to play elsewhere, which she won't if you negotiate properly with her, that's fine. But, I will be talking to Ginny and if she feels like you are holding out on her, I walk."

Suddenly, Gwenog turned to Ian.

"You know what we talked about. I can veto any roster decision I don't like."

"And I can veto you." Harry replied defiantly. "Players play, coaches coach. If he doesn't have me, he doesn't have Oliver Wood. If he doesn't have either of us, Portree ends up 12th in the league again."

Harry knew that he was putting Ian in a rough place. But, if he was coming back to play, he was going to do it right and with the right people. Ian thought about it for a couple seconds. Then, with a turn, he faced Gwenog.

"Gwenog, I'm afraid that he's right." Ian said sadly. "Ms. Weasley will be contacted about playing for the Pride."

With a huff, Gwenog stormed off the field. Harry and Ian watched as she left the field before Ian turned back to Harry.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I believe we need to find a new manager." Ian replied firmly.

"Not necessarily." Harry replied. "Plenty of teams just have their team captain act as manager."

"Would you want to do that?"

"No." Harry shot back firmly. "No, I have no interest in doing that. But, I know that Ginny was on schedule to be team captain next season at Holyhead. Bring her in, make her team captain and game manager. Make me and Oliver assistant captains and we can help with practices."

"A team run by Gryffindors?" Ian mused softly. "I like it."

"Me too. Reminds me of old times." Harry replied with a grin.

"Let's go talk numbers, Mr. Potter."

Harry was just about to follow Ian to wherever they were going to talk 'numbers' when a bright light shook Harry's attention. Running over the landscape towards them was a bright white otter. Instantly, Harry knew exactly what it was and knew that it couldn't be good.

Once it was within several feet of him, the otter stopped in place and stood on its back two feet. Speaking with the voice of Hermione, it gave him this message:

_"Molly is fading fast. Come to St. Mungo's to say goodbye."_

Instantly, Harry was on his broom. He would Apparate to St. Mungo's as he got closer but he knew that the faster way to get there would be on broom. He turned to Ian.

"My apologies, Ian. We'll talk money later."

"Go, dear boy." Ian said sadly.

With his blessing, Harry took off. He knew that he would have to get at least half the way back to London before he would be able to Apparate. That meant flying nearly two hours at top speed before he could even get to a safe Apparation distance. Harry was going to have to push the boundaries of the greatest broom in the world to get to the deathbed of the only mother he had ever known.

* * *

**6:10 PM**

**St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries**

**London, UK**

As Harry Apparated into the waiting room outside the Permanent Injuries ward, he startled the few members of the Weasley family that were sitting out there. Strange as it was, it seemed that every member of the family that Harry hadn't seen in years was there.

"Harry?" Bill said as he stood up from the couch he had been seated on.

"Bill, it's good to see you." Harry said sadly. "Is she?"

"She's still hanging in there." Bill said softly.

"Harry, how are you?" Fleur said next to him. Harry was shocked to hear that almost all of her French accent was gone.

"I was fine until I heard the news. Does anyone know why?"

"No." Charlie said as he stood up next to him. "The Healers said they kind of expected it to be like this, though. They thought that when she went, it would be relatively quick."

"You should go in and see her, Harry." Bill said next to him.

"I agree, Harry." a light and lilting voice behind him spoke up. Harry turned around to see Luna Lovegood seated behind him.

"Luna?" Harry asked in shock.

"Oh yes. That is, unless today is Thursday, and then I may be the kindred Spring spirit. He brings happiness and rain to those who plant his trees. He's a wonderful spirit."

"I'm sure." Harry replied in confusion. Luna Lovegood had always been his most confusing friend.

Suddenly, Harry heard a door open behind him. He turned to see Ginny making her way out of the ward. When she saw him, it was as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders. She marched across the waiting room and wrapped her arms around Harry's torso, sobbing into his chest. Harry firmly wrapped his arms around her and held her as tightly as he could. He felt the warmth of her tears on his sweaty training shirt as she continued to sob.

Several minutes later, she broke away from him, looking up at him with teary eyes.

"What took you so long?" she asked desperately. "I've been waiting for you forever."

"I was in Portree." Harry replied shortly. "I had to fly halfway back before I could even Apparate here."

"Portree? What were you doing in Portree?" she asked again.

Harry had wanted to keep his Quidditch foray a secret as long as he could. Unfortunately, Harry was a terrible liar and Ginny was one of the few people who could _always _tell when he was lying.

"Trying out for the Pride." Harry replied simply. "Ian Young asked me the other night at your match."

"Seriously?" she asked in shock. "You're going to play Quidditch."

"Yeah." Harry replied shortly. "Expect an owl soon."

"Why?"

"Just a hunch." Harry said with a smile. "Now, let's go see Molly."

Harry felt terrible that he hadn't been in to see Molly yet despite all the time that he had spent back in London. However, with everything going on, he would have liked to think that she would have understood.

"How is she today?" Harry whispered as they entered the room.

"She knows its coming but she's in good spirits."

"Will she recognize me?"

"She won't stop talking about you." Ginny said with an embarrassed grin. "I think she'll recognize you."

Ginny and Harry walked the length of the ward to the far corner where Molly's bed was. As Harry got closer, he noticed that she looked rather healthy and joyous, although Harry could still see the weakness in her eyes. It was that weakness that let Harry know that she truly was fading.

"Ginny, what's wrong with her?" Harry asked.

"They think it's a rare case of magical consumption." Ginny replied. "It's non-communicable and it's incredibly rare. Basically, your body stops producing magic and when you use up all of your magic, you begin to slowly lose control. Memories, ability to case simple spells, anything. Eventually, when your magic runs out, you die. A witch or wizard can't live without their magic."

"Wow." Harry replied simply. "I thought they didn't know what it was."

"They still don't really. They won't be able to tell for certain until after. But, they know that her blood pressure and brain activity has been slowing down over the past few days. This morning, it dived to an unrecoverable level. Sometime before the night is over, she'll slip away."

Harry couldn't imagine dying this way, laying in a bed and waiting for your body to betray you. And for it to happen to one of his favorite people in the world, well, it broke his heart.

"Harry?"

That voice was one that he hadn't heard for quite awhile. Harry looked towards the corner of the room where Molly Weasley was staring directly at him.

"Harry, is that you?"

Slowly, Harry stepped in towards Molly. Seated around her was Arthur, Hermione, Ron, George and Percy. Harry stepped through passed all of them and took a seat directly next to her.

"Hello, Molly." Harry said softly.

"Merlin's beard, it is Harry!" she said in surprise. "You've changed your glasses. I must say that it is a good look for you."

"Well, thank you." Harry said with an embarrassed grin. "How are you today?"

"Fine. Fine." she said absentmindedly. "I haven't seen you in years. How are you?"

"Better now that I've seen you." Harry said, intentionally buttering her up.

"Oh, Harry, you are too kind to an old woman." she said, giggling weakly as she spoke. "Now, have you found yourself a woman to be happy with, Harry?"

"No." Harry replied with a smile. "No, not yet, but I am looking."

"Good. Good. All you need is to be happy, Harry. You've been through so much and had so little good in your life. Find a girl and be happy, Harry."

"I'm doing my best."

"Good." Molly replied softly as she laid back into her bed. "Ginny's available now, I hear."

"Mum..." Ginny growled next to him.

"What's this?" Harry replied.

"I believe that my youngest daughter broke up with Dean yesterday." Molly said with a devious smile.

Harry turned to Ginny. "Is that true?"

"Yeah, it's true." Ginny said as she rolled her eyes. "Dean wouldn't come to my match because he was going out with Seamus. He only came to three matches this year and he left early from one, got too drunk to operate at another and complained because it was a late night for the last one."

"Wow." Harry replied softly. "I thought he liked Quidditch."

"He liked playing Quidditch. He hates watching it."

"That's too bad." Molly replied. "I liked that boy."

"Me too." Ginny grumbled.

"Like I said, Harry, just be happy. If there's anyone that deserves it, it's you."

Then as if she had been waiting to give that message, Molly settled back into her bed, pulling the covers up over her and slowly closed her eyes. Instantly, Arthur jumped forward next to her.

"Molly!"

Molly's eyes leapt open for a second before they closed slightly and aimed towards Arthur. Instantly, the doors at the end of the hall burst open and the rest of the Weasleys came screaming across the room to the bed at the end. As they closed in around her, she smiled as she saw her family surrounding her.

"Arthur, you are wonderful. Look at all of these wonderful people. Look at the success that we've raised." she said, using all of her strength to raise her voice just above a whisper.

"Molly, what am I supposed to do?" Arthur replied with tears streaming down his face. He knew what was coming and it was coming soon.

"Take care of yourself and let the family do what it does best." Molly replied with a weak smile.

"What's that?" George asked.

"We survive. We always survive." Molly replied as her eyes closed again. "I love you, Arthur. I love all of you..."

"Molly! Molly, come back!" Arthur shouted.

This time, Molly's eyes didn't open. Suddenly, everyone watched as she gave one last breath and then released. This time, she didn't breath in again. Harry sat there in shock as Arthur collapsed on the body of his wife, sobbing uncontrollably. Harry looked next to him and saw Ginny, crying silently to herself. He pulled her in close and tucked her under his arms, running his hand through her hair and she sobbed to herself. He couldn't believe that Molly Weasley, a bastion of life and love, couldn't live or love anymore.

It was a loss that shook Harry to the core. Harry turned and, remaining strong for the Weasleys, brought Ginny back into his arms again. All of this felt too familiar. In fact, he had done something very similar at Fred's funeral.

Suddenly, something snapped inside him. Harry was tired of being strong. Harry was tired of needing to be strong. He knew that he needed to stop The Jester before any of this got worse. Molly may have died for natural reasons but it hurt all the same. In his head, Harry made a silent vow. No one that he cared about would be hurt by the Jester. Not one of them.

* * *

**March 29**

**4:13 PM**

**The Burrow**

**Ottery St. Catchpole, UK**

An hour after the funeral of Molly Weasley ended, Harry, Cho, Ron and Ginny still sat outside The Burrow near the tree where Fred, and now Molly, had been buried. No one had said anything because nothing needed to be said. Harry knew the hurt that the Weasleys felt because he felt it himself. Molly had been a mother to him. He often said like a mother, but he now knew that wasn't enough. She was the mother that his birth mother would have wanted for him.

Suddenly, Ron broke the silence.

"When are we leaving?" he said roughly, his voice thick with disuse.

"Tomorrow." Harry replied softly.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked.

"Ron and I convinced Fleur to get us some information on the castle that Grindelwald lived in. We're going there to check that out and then heading to the Ministry to see if we can't get into Christoph's place."

"Christoph is dead. Wouldn't they have taken all that already?" Cho asked.

"Probably not. Apparently, Christoph was from a fairly influential French family. Odds are that until they finish his private family ceremony next week after our Ministry sends his body to them, his home should still be full of all the evil junk he had there." Ron replied.

"Evil junk? Did you really just say evil junk?" Ginny asked, a barely conceiled smile on her face. Harry thought that it was nice to see her smile again. Of all the Weasley children, she appeared to have taken it the hardest over the past few days, locking herself in her old room and refusing to come out for hours. Finally, Harry and Ron had nearly blown in her door and told her that if she didn't go eat, they were going to start hiding gnomes in her room. That had been the only time other than this moment that Harry could remember her smiling since Molly's passing.

"I did say evil junk!" Ron replied with a forced indignant attitude. "The man probably owns a lot of evil junk!"

"Did I just hear the Ministry's most respected Auror say evil junk?" George said as he marched across the lawn towards them.

"I said evil junk and I don't care who knows it!" Ron said, leaping from his seat. However, as Ron landed on the ground, his right foot hit a tree root, causing him to tumble backwards. Unable to get his balance, he fell backwards, rolling down the hill and into the lake. While the lake wasn't anywhere near freezing, it certainly wasn't warm enough to swim in.

Suddenly, Ron leapt up out of the water.

"COLD!" he said as he sprinted back up the hill, gathering his wand which had fallen out of his pocket on the way. With a wave of his wand, his clothing was dried and he appeared warm again, although the small shivers in his shoulders told another story.

"You always were the most graceful Weasley." George said seriously.

Finally, fighting it as much they could, the group gathered burst into laughter. They laughed for minutes on end. Suddenly, the laughter turned into stories of Fred and of Molly. They turned into stories of Sirius and slimy Severus Snape. When the rest of the Weasley family marched out onto the lawn to join them, they too joined in the racous, telling funny stories of their time at Hogwarts and their escapades at their childhood home.

For what seemed like hours, they talked and shared and laughed and cried. Even Cho and Ileana, Charlie's Romanian girlfriend, who were the two that were the most unfamiliar with these stories, laughed along.

Eventually, they all forgot how they had gotten to telling stories of Ron, Harry and the Ford Angila and Fred, George and their fiery exit at Hogwarts. Eventually, all they could remember was the good.

They continued telling stories until the late hours in the night. But eventually, the crowd thinned out. Percy and Audrey, his new girlfriend, headed home. Bill and Fleur Flooed back to Egpyt with a promise of returning back to the Burrow soon. George and Angelina had to return to the shop early the next morning. Charlie and Ileana retired to his old bedroom. Arthur went to bed, albeit in the front sitting room. Finally, it was just Harry, Cho, Ron and Ginny again and again they were silent. The four sat and watched as the moon crept over the fields behind the Burrow and rose over the tree.

"I wish I had a family like yours." Cho said softly.

"Why do you say that?" Ron asked.

"I love my family but it's just me. My parents are usually off on some vacation to some exotic place. I don't have much in the way of an extended family. My mum's family lives in Hong Kong and I've only met them once. My dad's family is in Scotland and they hate us. I was an only child. I don't really have much in the way of a family."

"Me neither." Harry replied.

"But you do, Harry." Cho shot back. "Actually, as I watched you all this evening, it was amazing to think that you weren't actually related to them. It seemed impossible. You fit in so well with them, even though you've been gone for years."

"They're the only family I've ever known. The only one that always cared about me. Uncle Vernon never gave a shit about me but then he died the year after the Battle of Hogwarts. I've only seen Petunia and Dudley a couple times since then and although I think we understand each other better, it's still weird."

Suddenly, Harry felt Ron put a hand on his shoulder.

"Mate, you know as well as I do, they may be blood, but they aren't family."

That, more than anything that Ron had ever said, made sense.

"You know what?"

"What?" Ron asked.

"Molly always was good at bringing people together."

* * *

**March 31**

**1:14 PM**

**The Burrow**

**Ottery St. Catchpole, UK**

After two days of ensuring that Ron was around to ensure that all of Molly's estates were settled, they were ready to leave. Unlike the last time that Harry had left the country, he didn't feel the need to fly all the way there. The rumors that plagued the Russian Ministry (which turned out to be true) didn't apply to the French. While they may have been known for intentionally avoiding world conflict, they certainly weren't known for housing Dark wizards.

"Are we ready to go?" Ron asked as he walked out of the back door.

"I certainly hope so." Harry replied.

In the backyard of the Burrow stood Harry, Ron, Cho and Hermione. While Harry and Ron were going to France searching for information on Grindelwald and The Frenchman, Cho and Hermione had agreed to stay behind and work on securing the Ministry and the magical and non-magical population of England. However, just because they were staying didn't mean they were happy about it.

"I really wish you would let us come." Cho said as she approached Harry.

"I know." Harry replied softly. "But, I'm the one in charge of bringing The Jester in and Ron has more expertise on the pair of them than anyone. I need you and Hermione to lock things down here. Be prepared to shut the whole place down at anytime."

"We will." Cho said with a smile that nearly knocked me back. "Just come home safe. Please?"

"I'll make sure I get your man back, alright?" Ron said with a smile as he said his goodbyes to Hermione.

"You better." Cho said roughly.

"Your man?" Harry asked quietly. "What's up with that?"

"Shut up." Cho replied before kissing Harry square on the lips.

Suddenly, lights flashed in Harry's head as he was instantly whipped back to the Room of Requirement in his fifth year underneath the mistletoe. Then, Harry remembered that he wasn't in the Room of Requirement but the back yard of the Burrow. Quickly, Harry and Cho broke apart upon the realization that Ron and Hermione were staring at them.

"What?" Cho asked. "You've never seen people kiss before."

"I have. I remember you two jumping all over each other while Voldemort was trying to kill us." Harry added.

"Keep going, mate." Ron replied with a grin. "I'll leave you in France."

"They'll kick me out. But, you, they love you there, Ronnie."

"I knew I should have let those French tourists get attacked by that pack of werewolves."

"Oh yes, that would have looked good in the papers." Hermione replied sarcastically. "Head Auror fails to save French tourists: Head of DMLE rolls her eyes and punches him in the face."

"It would have saved me from having to do that damn parade in Nice." Ron replied.

"Amen, brother." Harry answered before turning to Cho. "We have to leave. Stay at the Manor and tell Kreature or Winky to put up the wards until I get back."

"I will. Be safe." Cho said before finally letting Harry go.

"We will." Harry replied before finally turning to Ron. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Let's go." Harry replied before Disapparating into the afternoon sky.

* * *

**2:20 PM Paris Time/1:20 PM London Time**

**Somewhere in France**

The moment that Harry and Ron hit the ground, they knew that they were in a place that would rather not be. Fleur had given them the exact coordinates to Grindelwald's castle and she had certainly been correct. Apparently the rumors had been true. Everyone knew where he had been during his reign but no one wanted to stand up to him.

The castle was like out of story book, albeit a dark and twisted one. It had three matching spires that shot up out of the rest of the castle into the sky. The rest of the castle was black and shined like glass in the sun. Harry wondered if it was made out of some kind of black rock or glass. In front of them stood a massive gate, again black and menacing. Somehow, the magic around the castle appeared to have even corrupted the sky around it, making it dark and threatening. As Harry thought that, several large bolts of lightning struck inside the gates.

Swallowing his fear, Harry approached the gate and as he got closer, he could make out an inscription on it.

"Nigrum castum de mirum. Ad maius bonum. Morte ad Muggles." Harry whispered softly. "What do you think it means?"

"It's Latin." Ron replied. "When I went through the Academy, I took some basic language courses. I'm not sure exactly what it say but I think I've got an idea."

"Well what is it?"

"The first part says something about a black castle. I assume that's the name of this place." Ron answered.

"Good guess." Harry shot back, eyeing the black castle in the distance.

"Thanks." Ron replied sarcastically. "The second part is fairly obvious. I know that 'maius' is more and 'bonum' is probably some like good or bonus or something."

"For the greater good." Harry whispered.

"Exactly." Ron replied. "And I'm fairly certain that the last part means death to Muggles."

"Great." Harry replied as he pushed on the gate. Surprisingly, it opened for him. Harry looked at Ron with a worried and curious look.

"Maybe it recognizes magic?" Ron asked.

"I hope so. Either that or we're walking into a big trap." Harry replied as he pushed the gate open fully and walked through.

After the quick walk to the large front door of the castle, Harry pushed that door open as well. However, what he saw on the inside of the castle was the exact opposite of what he expected. Unlike Vinogradoff's home in Siberia, this house was bright and ornate, lavishly decorated with rarities and delicacies from across the world.

Then, Harry saw something that instantly put him on edge.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ron asked next to him.

Harry approached the table in the large entryway. Sure enough, laying on the table was a copy of the Daily Prophet. Harry picked it up and checked the date.

"January 18, 2004." Harry read aloud.

"That's the day before we captured The Frenchman." Ron whispered as he approached him.

"Then that's no coincidence." Harry replied. "How long had the Frenchman been active as a Dark wizard?"

"Weeks after you left, he showed up. But, he was fairly well trained."

"He must have been visiting Grindelwald in prison." Harry whispered softly to himself. "He was working for both of them. Do you think he continued to use this place?"

"Must have. He left a paper here, didn't he?" Ron replied.

"Alright, let's split up." Harry said. "I'll take the second floor. You take this one. Patronuses if you find something or get attacked by something."

"You think something is going to attack us?" Ron asked.

"You didn't see Vinogradoff's place. It was pretty defensive."

"Good point." Ron replied before turning to start his search.

With Ron starting his search, Harry climbed the stairs to the second floor and started his search. For nearly an hour, Harry found nothing and didn't hear from Ron. As they searched, all he was able to find was a bunch of bedrooms. Harry wondered if Grindelwald used this place to house his army during his heyday.

As time passed, Harry and Ron climbed the castle, finding nothing. For a Dark wizard, he certainly did a good job of hiding his darkness. Other than the message on the front gate and the overall creepiness of the outside of the castle, everything appeared to be completely normal.

After searching all nine floors and two of the three spires, there was only one place left to look: the tallest of the three spires. Harry assumed that it would have been too cliche for Grindelwald to actually hide something up there. As it was, Harry didn't expect to find anything up there.

It took nearly twenty minutes to climb this tallest tower. When they finally reached the top, they were able to look out one of the windows and see the beginnings of a cloud forming around the tower. Once Harry was done looking out the window, he looked around the rest of the room. It was a completely empty platform. Other than a fireplace in the far corner, there was literally nothing in the room. Sure enough, there was nothing there.

"Dammit!" Ron shouted. "Where the fuck does he keep his evil junk?"

"Evil junk again, huh?"

"Yeah." Ron replied with a grin that was suddenly dropped when he again realized that we had found nothing. "Do you imagine that we missed something?"

"I think that we had to." Harry answered. "Either that or The Frenchman emptied the place out, which wouldn't surprise me."

"No kidding, mate." Ron replied as he walked over to the fireplace.

The pair of them stood in the empty landing for ten minutes, doing their due diligence and searching the room for any nook or cranny that may lead to somewhere that couldn't be seen. Finally, they were forced to give up their search.

"Well, I hope Christoph's place turns up more." Harry said as they marched down the stairs. However, just as he said that, he noticed something on the wall. A marker that he somehow knew would be their saving grace.

"Ron."

"What?"

"Look at that." Harry said, pointing at the wall.

There on the wall was the mark of the Deathly Hallows or the mark of Grindelwald as some people knew it. For some reason, Harry knew this is where they needed to go. It was light etched into the wall, barely noticeable if you didn't know what you were looking for.

"Do you think there's something behind that?"

"You bet I do." Harry replied hungrily.

"How do we get back there?"

"March up the stairs." Harry ordered.

"How is that going to get us into that room?" Ron asked nervously.

"Before I try and use brain power to get this open, I'm going to try and blow it open." Harry said with a smile.

Instantly, Ron sprinted up the stairs and Harry ran down them. Once he thought that Ron was far enough away, Harry turned back to the wall and raised his wand towards it.

_"Bombara Maxima!" _Harry shouted before ducking down the stairs.

When the blue flash that erupted from his wand hit the wall, there was a massive explosion that rocked the tower. As the rocks and dust settled, Harry walked back up the stairs to the spot where he had hit the wall. Surprisingly, it had mostly worked. A large hole almost large enough for one of them to make it through replaced where the wall had been. With some quick wandwork, Harry expanded the hole to the size of a large set of double doors.

"Follow me!" Harry shouted as Ron came rushing down the stairs.

Stepping inside, Harry immediately saw that they had reached the right place. Posted around the room, covering the wall like wallpaper, were thousands of pieces of parchment. Quickly, Harry moved to examine them. As he looked them over, he saw a list of names.

_Grindelwald  
myself  
Azoli  
You-Know-Who  
Draco Malfoy?  
Severus Snape?  
Harry Potter?_

Ignoring the shock that Harry felt when he saw his own name on the list, he looked at the papers next to it on the wall. These were even more interesting. They appeared to be a chart with the names on it.

_Tier 1  
_?

_Tier__ 2__  
_Voldemort (trained by ?)  
Grindelwald (trained by ?)  
Potter? (trained by ?)

_Tier 3  
_Azoli (trained by Voldemort and ?)  
Snape and Malfoy? (trained by Voldemort)

_Tier__ 4  
_myself (trained by Azoli and Grindelwald)

As Harry read, he realized what he was looking at. The Frenchman was trying to chart The Network from the bottom. But what really startled Harry was the person on the top of the list. For the longest time, Harry had assumed that either Grindelwald or Voldemort was secretly on the top of the list. However, to see a member of The Network put the list together and assume that there was someone else entirely pulling the strings, it certainly made him nervous.

However, that was when Harry noticed the third, and most frightening thing, on this particular wall. They were photographs. But, they weren't just any photographs. They were photos of him. There were even some of him in Alaska. This group, and the Frenchman in particular, had been following him. Almost all of the pictures were of him by himself. However, there were two with his friend, Noah, walking down the main streets of Barrow.

Suddenly, Harry realized that Ron was directly behind him.

"Harry? Is this what I think it is?"

"Christoph was watching me. Or he had people watching me. Either way, they knew where I was." Harry whispered softly.

"That's not cool."

"No, it isn't. Not at all." Harry said before pulling all of the charts and photos of the wall and shoving them into his bag. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

**5:00 PM Paris Time/4:00 PM London Time**

**Ministry of Magic**

**Paris, France**

"Mr. Weasley, we are so glad to see you."

That voice belonged to Monsieur Victor Debouillet. Debouillet was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in France and a large admirer of Harry's best friend. The year before Harry left, Ron had saved a large group of French tourist from a werewolf attack. For a time, Ron was one of the most famous men in wizarding France, even participating in a parade in the city of Nice.

Harry, on the other hand, was not looked upon as favorably. Large parts of France still believed that Harry made up large parts of his story about Lord Voldemort, some of them even going as far to say that the Battle of Hogwarts was a farce used to cover up an accident that Harry had created at the castle. Needless to say, Harry was not very comfortable with visiting the Ministry in Paris.

"Thanks, Victor." Ron replied, shaking the Auror's hand. "You know my friend, Harry."

"I do know of Mr. Potter." Debouillet replied dismissively. "However, I do not believe that we have had the pleasure of meeting."

Pleasure was not the word that Harry was looking for.

"Mr. Debouillet, thanks for meeting with us on such short notice." Harry said, appearing as gracious as possible.

"It is only a minor inconvenience." Debouillet said even though his eyes suggested otherwise.

"Victor, is there a place where we can meet privately?" Ron said, obviously noticing the tension between the other two.

"But, of course." Debouillet replied before turning and leading them out of the large entryway they had been standing in.

After a short trip on the lifts at the end of the entryway, they reached the top floor of the Ministry and Victor's office. Unlike any Auror's office that Harry had ever seen, Victor's office was immaculate, looking as though it had never been worked in.

"I believe this will work." Victor said as he took his seat behind his desk. "Please, sit."

Doing as they were told, Harry and Ron sat down opposite the French Auror. After looking through a couple of files on his desk for a few moments, Debouillet looked up at them.

"Now, the letter that I received from Fleur Weasley was very vague." he said. "What is it exactly that you wish to speak to me about?"

Harry, knowing that his presence alone could potentially cause trouble, kept his mouth shut as Ron began to explain their situation.

"Bruno Christoph's home. We need access to it." Ron said bluntly.

"May I ask why?"

"Of course." Ron replied graciously. "Christoph was working with Azoli Vinogradoff AKA The Jester. Originally, we believed that they were the only two out there. However, we have reason to believe that they are both connected to a third, and more powerful, witch or wizard. We have already searched Vinogradoff's home in Siberia. Now, we would like to be able to take a look at Christoph's to see if we can make the connection."

Harry sat in silence, hoping that Debouillet would simply grant their request. Of course, he knew that it would never be that simple.

"Mr. Potter, what is your place here?"

"I am the person in charge of the investigation into the whereabouts of The Jester." Harry replied honestly.

"Then, why is it that Mr. Weasley is the one speaking?" Debouillet asked pressingly.

"Because we both know that his presence is far more welcome here than mine is."

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about." Debouillet replied, an evil grin on his face. "We love you here."

"I'm grateful." Harry shot back simply.

"So, you sought to manipulate me then? Make it seem as if Mr. Weasley was in charge of the investigation when it was really you. That does seem like something that someone as manipulative and dishonest as you would come up with."

"Vict-" Ron attempted to interject.

"Silence, Mr. Weasley." he growled, covering Ron up. "I expected better than this from you."

"B-"

"Bruno Christoph's father, William, is a very close friend of mine. I have know the Christoph's for four decades." Debouillet said, getting angrier by the minute. "To think that someone would accuse Bruno of something like this is outrageous and I will not stand for it!"

"Won't stand for it?" Ron asked, losing his cool all at once. "Bruno Christoph confessed to his crimes! When given Veritaserum, his story matched his confession exactly! I caught him myself! He tied a Muggle woman to a bed and raped her for two months!"

"Ron!" Harry shouted, signaling for Ron to quit.

"Sorry." Ron said quickly.

Harry had figured that something like this was going to happen. Harry had actually met The Frenchman's father once before and he knew that he was very wealthy, very popular, very corrupt and very willing to kill or bribe anyone to get his way. Whether or not Debouillet had been bribed remained to be seen, although Harry doubted that he had. No, Harry just assumed that Victor Debouillet had the same issues with him that everyone else in France had.

"Ronald, Mr. Potter, I'm afraid there's simply nothing we can do for you." Debouillet added with an smug look on his face.

Knowing a lost cause when he saw one, Harry stood and motioned for Ron to follow him. Also sensing defeat, Ron stood and with a curt nod towards Victor, made his way to follow Harry out of the door. They nearly got to the door when Victor said one sentence too many.

"Thanks for your time, Potter. I hope you don't take your usual route after one of your many failures."

For some reason, Harry stopped at the door. He could see Ron next to him, imploring him to keep going. But, he simply couldn't. Turning back to face Victor, he spoke up.

"And what route would that be?" Harry asked roughly.

"Well, usually it would end with either the death of someone you love or a drunk escape. However, since you've had everyone you loved killed, I imagine that the bottom of a pint glass will do."

What made Victor say that, he couldn't be sure. However, he could be sure that he would regret it. With one large motion, the door was locked and silence and Victor Debouillet was thrown against the wall. Harry could see Ron looking on nervously as Harry pinned Debouillet against the wall. With a wave of his wand, Harry tossed the desk in front of him to the side, clearing a path to the pinned Auror.

Quickly, Harry stepped up and, after loading up as much as he could, threw a massive punch into his midsection. The very instant the punch landed, Harry heard Debouillet exhale desperately as all of the air in his lungs was forced out of them.

"I don't know who you think you are." Harry said as he started to withdraw his wand again. "But, I have killed people much better than you and for much less. Either way, that was one of the stupidest things I've ever seen. We were leaving, you had won! All you had to do was let us leave and you would have never heard from us again. But, instead, you ran your mouth and now...well, now, you'll give us the information we need or you'll die."

"Harry, don't you th-"

"Ron, not now." Harry replied menacingly before facing Debouillet again. "Now, we need an address."

"F-f-uck you!" Debouillet gasped.

"Fine." Harry replied before raising his wand. _"Crucio!"_

Harry knew that he was pressing hard. But, there was nothing he could do to control himself. Something about the day, with the information they had found at Grindelwald's castle and the attitude of the prick in front of him, had sent him over the edge. For the time being, he had no interest in coming back.

Debouillet screamed in pain as his curse coursed through his body, sending pain to every nerve he had. Finally, after nearly a minute, Harry let up. Debouillet's breathing was ragged and shallow as he tried his best to recover from the pain he had just been in. With another wave of his wand, Harry released Debouillet from the wall, sending him crashing to the floor.

Debouillet wasted no time. The moment he touched the floor, he was up, sprinting at Harry, despite the fact that his wand had flown across the room when he had been thrown backwards.

_"Expulso!"_

The white beam of light blasted Debouillet in the chest and sent him flying backwards into the wall. When he hit, various item from the shelves above him came crashing down, hitting him on the head.

"Tell me what I want to know, Vic." Harry said, obviously disrespecting him.

"No!"

"Your loss. Literally." Harry answered before lifting his wand. _"Diffindo!"_

With a flash and a scream, Debouillet's right hand collapsed to the floor. Debouillet looked in shock as blood came rushing out of the wound. Finally, Harry's patience wore thin. Stabbing his wand into thin air, Harry picked Debouillet up and flipped him upside-down, hanging him from his ankle. As Debouillet's arms fell down, blood flowed freely from the wound. Harry knelt down to head level and spoke softly.

"I've done this once before. You have about seven minutes. At seven minutes, you will start to get very nauseous. At eight, you will throw up. At nine, you will hallucinate and at ten, you will pass out and never wake up again. Or, you can tell me what I want to know and then I can fix your hand in one. If you don't tell me what I want to know now, I leave and place several magical locks over the door and you will die hanging in mid-air."

"Fine! Fine!" Debouillet shouted. "He lived 5 Rue Louis Rouffe in Marseilles! Now let me go!"

"Will do." Harry replied as he gave three distinctly different waves of his wand. Sure enough, with the first wave of his wand, Debouillet collapsed to the floor. With another, Harry attached his hand back to his arm. However, with the last wave, Debouillet's eyes blanked out.

"Memory charm?" Ron asked behind him, sounding almost frightened.

"Yes." Harry replied. "He remembers taking a nap and meeting with us briefly. He'll have no idea what happened."

"Good. So, Marseilles, he said?" Ron asked.

"Yes. I'm getting sick of all this travelling."


	15. XV

_A/N: The first part of this chapter takes place at the same time as the end of the previous chapter. You'll know when time has passed beyond the end of Chapter XIV._

**March 31**

**1:32 PM**

**Ministry of Magic**

Having left Harry and Ron to their research just a few moments ago, Cho and Hermione Apparated together to the Atrium at the Ministry. While Harry was gone, Cho was to act in his place, working with Hermione to try to find The Jester within the country. The pair of them had interviews set up with various Ministry members for the next several days and there were even rumors that they were going to be forced to travel to Ireland to meet with a married couple who swore up and down that they had seen The Jester recently. However, they would not be working together today. Hermione had several meetings for the rest of the afternoon and Cho knew that there was no way that she was going to be finished at a decent hour.

As Cho bid farewell to Hermione and took a seat behind the desk in her own office down the hall from Hermione and Harry's, Cho noticed a letter on her desk. Obviously it was not a Ministry memo as it did not seem to have been folded into a paper airplane. Instead, it was a full envelope of parchment of the highest quality. It even had a bit of a scent on it, a hint of perfume. It was strange. That was something that a Muggle usually did. Paper done in this style was not the typical wizarding letter.

Nevertheless, she opened the envelope warily. However, the moment she opened it, she knew that her worries had been unfounded. She quickly took the letter out and placed it on the desk in front of her, reading quickly.

_Cho,_

_I've heard that you've made your way back into the country. About damn time, I'd say! Anyway, Blaise is at work all day and so I don't have much to do with my time. I would really enjoy seeing you after going nearly two years without seeing one of my closest friends! _

_We really do have tons of catching up to do. So, how does lunch at the house sound? Three o'clock? I do hope you can make it._

_I wait your reply._

_Love,_

_Mary Zabini_

While Cho may have been putting the letter away nicely on the outside, internally she was laughing. Mary Zabini? Obviously, she had adjusted her name to try and get some of the stink off of her that still plagued her after their sixth year. After their time at Hogwarts, Marietta Edgecombe had nearly disappeared off the face of the earth. Actually, it was precisely her face that caused it. After ratting out Dumbledore's Army, she had been placed under a terribly scarring hex that gave her near permanent welts and acne in the shape of the word "SNEAK" across her face.

Two years of desperate searching had finally found her a Healer in Argentina who had given her a lotion that she was to rub on her face four times a day. Unfortunately for her, it didn't prevent the marks from showing up. Instead, it completely rearranged her face like a permanent glamour charm. The hexes were gone as long as she applied the lotion. However, because of this, no one recognized her. Even her family had a difficult time being around her and so when they came around, she intentionally did not apply the lotion, which forced her to spend the next week indoors before the lotion would take hold again.

However, for as long as she applied it, she could be someone totally different. In fact, she was so different that she was able to somehow wrangle Blaise Zabini into marrying her. How she managed it, Cho still wasn't sure to this day. But, what she did know is that Blaise cared for her about as much as he cared for his broom and he wasn't a particularly avid flyer.

So, Marietta Edgecombe became Mary Edgecombe and then Mary Zabini, completely changing her face. Now, no one had to know that Marietta Edgecombe was actually the wife of one of the most conservative members of the Ministry of Magic. Not that his record affected her any. He had been quite wealthy when they had married and now Marietta, _"Mary"_ Cho reminded herself, simply stayed at home, living the luxurious life of a wealthy housewife with elves to take care of her every whim.

Cho didn't particularly care to see Mary but as she was unlikely to get much work done today without Harry or Hermione to work with, Cho decided to close up shop for the day and accept Mary's invitation. Quickly, she pulled out a quill and a very normal piece of parchment and scribbled a note confirming their date before handing it to her owl in the corner.

"Take this to Mary, alright, Hercules?" Cho asked the giant owl as she tied her letter on his foot. Hercules gave a stiff hoot before taking off and flying out the Owl exit at the top of the building.

Cho worked on some paperwork for the next hour, never really paying much attention to what was in front of her and instead thinking of Harry and Ron and the risk they were taking in leaving the country again. The last time Harry had left, The Frenchman had been killed in the middle of his trial. Cho just hoped that something like that didn't happen again.

At a quarter to 3, Cho stood up and collected her things before stepping out of her office, locking it with a wave of her wand, and walking back towards the Atrium. Thankfully, Mary's house was attached to the Floo Network and so Cho wouldn't have to leave the Anti-Apparation wards that surrounded the Ministry nowadays. Unfortunately, she didn't get that far on her first attempt. As she stepped into the Atrium, she was suddenly confronted by Roger Davies.

"Cho? How are you?" he said, looking excited and sounding bored.

"I'm good, Roger. How are you?" Cho replied, despite Roger's strangeness.

"Fine, I suppose. I hear you've given up your job in the States." Roger answered as she nodded. "That's too bad. You were doing a good job."

"Thanks. Where are you working?" Cho asked, not exactly certain why she was asking.

"I'm the new Assistant Head of the International Magical Office of Law. I started yesterday."

"That's fantastic. I'm certain you'll do great."

"Thanks." Roger said softly before leaning in towards her. "I've been meaning to talk to you. If you're done being Potter's lackey, we could really use a mind like yours in my office."

"In what way am I Harry's lackey?" Cho asked in anger.

"I heard that Potter and Weasley are out of the country again, searching for the Jester. Meanwhile, you're here, taking care of Potter's business and answering to Weasley and Granger."

"She's a Weasley too, you know?" Cho corrected him harshly.

"It doesn't matter. You were the most prestigious Ambassador for us in the world and now, well now you're nothing more than Potter's secretary."

So this was what the Ministry-at-large thought of her now that she had come back to England. They all thought that, with her massive crush on Harry from school being common knowledge, she had accepted just to work for him and refuse to move her own career up. The whole of the Ministry thought that she had simply accepted being Harry's assistant.

"Davies, you do realize that I'm the Goodwill Ambassador to the entire Wizarding World, right? You understand that I'm working with Harry on this but once this case is over, we will separate ourselves and work on different things. The only people who I report to are the Weasleys. If you seriously think that I am Harry's slave, then you have another thing coming. Who knows? Maybe, I'll apply for the Head of the International Magical Office of Law once Fitzgerald retires in the next few years."

"I find that highly unlikely." Roger replied stiffly. "First, Fitzgerald will more than likely work until he dies. Secondly, why do you think they named someone as the Assistant Head of the department for the first time? Once he's gone, I'll take over and it's as simple as that."

"Not if the former Ambassador to the United States and Goodwill Ambassador puts her name in the ring. Plus, they still look at NEWT scores, Davies. If I remember correctly, your's were not that fantastic."

"I've worked passed them."

"I'm certain you have." Cho said coolly before stepping around him and making her way to the closet fireplace. She looked over her shoulder for just a moment to see Roger still standing where she had left him, a small look of fury on his face. Cho was certain that no one had spoken to him like that for quite some time.

When she reached her selected fireplace, she grabbed a handful of the Floo Powder next to the fireplace and threw it in. Once she saw that it had turned the satisfactory green color that was needed, she stepped in and shouted her destination.

"Zabini Manor!"

Quickly, she felt the bottom of the fireplace fall out and seconds later, she came stumbling out of the fireplace at a very dark and elegant dining room within Zabini Manor. The house of decorated like a Slytherin, maybe even Salazar Slytherin himself, had done it. Since it had been in the Zabini family for centuries, she suspected that the dark character of the family had influenced it over time.

"Cho Chang, is that you?"

Cho turned in place to see Mary standing in the doorway. Cho prided herself on being able to see straight through her disguise and she found that despite having been gone for several years, she could still tell. After all, her eyes hadn't changed a bit.

"Mary, how are you?" Cho said happily, walking the length of the room to embrace her oldest friend.

"I'm doing quite well. How are you? Working for Potter, I hear?" Mary said, a hint of disgust creeping into her voice.

"I'm working _with _him, Mary. There is a difference."

"I'm certain there is." Mary said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Either way, I don't know how you can stand it."

"I know you don't care for him, Mary, but he's a good man. Plus, he didn't know about the hex that Hermione had put on that paper."

"Hermione?" Mary asked mockingly. "It's Hermione now, is it? For the longest time, it was Granger or Weasley or that awful girl. Now it's Hermione? You've gone soft, Cho."

Cho could see that Mary had become what Cho had always feared for her: a gossiping monster who held grudges and was probably using the money she had now to influence everything she could. More than likely, Hermione had fought against Mary and Blaise and that, coupled with the humiliation she suffered during her sixth year, had led to a grudge over everyone that supported Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. In fact, Mary was one of the few people who didn't return to fight for Hogwarts that day. Even after the fact, she stressed that while she was glad that You-Know-Who was gone, she had wished that Harry had been taken with him.

Little did they all know, and they found out later when Harry, desperate for money had authorized a biography on his life, that he had been closer to death than any person had ever been before.

"Mary, let's talk about something different. I know that we see things differently and that we have for some time. I didn't come here to fight with you."

"That's fine with me." Mary said dismissively before turning and walking down the hallway. "Besides, Tracey and Daphne are waiting in the other room."

"Who?" Cho asked in confusion.

"Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass. Daphne married Theodore Nott last year. Theo and Blaise are best friends. So, I see a lot of Daphne. As a result, I have to deal with Tracey but that's alright."

"Why do you have to deal with either of them?"

"It's just how things work, Cho. I'm a Pureblood, Blaise is a Pureblood, Theo and Daphne are Purebloods. We have to stick together." Mary said pointedly. "Plus, they really aren't bad company when you have nothing to do all day."

"What about Tracey?"

"We don't need to talk about that." Mary replied as they stepped into the dining room.

Cho had to prevent a snicker at that comment as they entered the room where two women their age were already seated and talking rather heatedly.

"Tracey, I simply cannot believe that I'm hearing this again." the thin blonde, Daphne Greengrass-Nott, said as she rolled her eyes. "He's no hero. The courts proved it."

"The courts?" Tracey Davis, a short brunette with a set of piercing blue eyes, replied. "The courts run by Amos Diggory, you mean? He nearly bankrupted his entire family to ensure that he ended up guilty for it. He was only pissed off that he couldn't get him in a criminal trial."

"Why must we talk about this every time you two come over?" Mary said as she took her seat next to Daphne. "I believe you all know Cho Chang."

"As yes, Cho Chang, the woman who went to the end of the earth to bring back Harry Potter." Daphne said snidely.

"Can we please drop the Potter subject?" Mary asked hurriedly. Cho had a sneaking suspicion that Daphne and Mary talked about this subject often and they were used to winning it where only Tracey seemed interested in defending Harry.

"Certainly." Daphne answered. "So how is it being back home?" Her new tone almost scared Cho with how much different it was from the attacking one she had used moments ago.

"It's fine. I certainly missed it." Cho replied. "I enjoy being back at our Ministry. What work are you two in?"

"I work for the Department of Magical Education." Tracey replied. "I'm one of the five or six evaluators in the Department. I actually work at Hogwarts and do monthly reviews of a handful of professors at school."

"That sounds fantastic." Cho said with a smile before dangerously turning towards Daphne. "And what do you do?"

The first reply that Cho got was a hearty laugh that she could tell came directly from Daphne's belly. A true and full laugh.

"Oh, I am sorry for that." she replied as she finished laughing seconds later. "But that is a funny question. I am the financial director of the Greengrass Foundation."

"What does that entail?"

"Sitting at home and watching my money multiply." Daphne replied coldly. "My family has spent the last few centuries making smart investments in the world Wizarding market. As a result, I can choose what to spend my time doing. I certainly don't need to make any money."

"Excellent." Cho replied, a foul taste in her mouth. "That's wonderful for you."

"That it is." Daphne replied as several house elves invaded the room, bringing plates full of delicious looking food with them.

For the rest of the lunch, the topics of Harry Potter, money and work left and it was simply left to the gossip of whether Hermione and Ron Weasley were finally going to get that divorce that they had obviously been begging for for almost a full year now.

As much as she hated the conversation, there was one glimmer of hope: Tracey Davis. Despite having been a Slytherin in school, she appeared to be smart and interested only in what the truth was unlike Mary, who sounded every bit the Slytherin that Cho was convinced she should have been, and Daphne, who Cho left wondering if the fair-skinned woman had ever ordered the death of someone. Both of them suspected they knew what the truth was and didn't seek to do any real thinking about it.

Finally, at nearly 4:30, Cho stood up and excused herself, telling herself that she would never attend another one of these lunches. However, she also told herself that it was her intention to seek out Tracey Davis and get her away from people who she had obviously outgrown.

Taking the Floo back to Potter Manor, she quickly ran up to her room where she showered and changed into some much more comfortable attire. Once she was done, she headed back down to the sitting room furthest from the front door. It was long and nearly empty as Harry had yet to full furnish it. However, it did have an incredibly large sofa, a giant rug and one coffee table. Once she got to the table, she sat down and opened up some files on the Jester and laid them out in front of her.

Unfortunately, her mind prevented her from looking at them for any longer than a few minutes. Every time that she thought that she was getting ready to get down to work, her thoughts began to drift. First, they drifted to Harry. From the start of her fifth year, she had liked him and he knew that she had liked her but he was simply too shy to do anything about that. Then, there was the whole issue with Marietta. Her staunch refusal to believe that her friend had done anything other defend her family led to Harry hating her. It was nearly two years, during the Battle of Hogwarts, before they truly spoke again. By then, Cho had realized just how wrong she had been about Harry and how much Marietta's betrayal of the DA and then Cho's defense of her meant to Harry.

Unfortunately, by the time she realized her mistake, it was too late. During that time, Harry had obviously fallen for Ginny Weasley and Cho saw that her chance to make things work between the two of them was gone. Once she realized this, she nearly gave up on having a love life, burying herself in her work and largely ignoring the world. Two days after the funeral for Albus Dumbledore, she had started her career at the Ministry, specializing in international relations. It was her thought that she wanted to get away from London, England and anything that reminded her of the mistake that she had made with her and Harry Potter.

However, her career was cut short when You-Know-Who took control of the Ministry. Cho had been on her way to work when her boss had sent her an Owl, begging her to run. She didn't even think twice. She took off and hid in her family's large estate in Scotland while her parent's chose to flee the country entirely. Only once in the whole year did she get any trouble from You-Know-Who's government and that was simply because they thought that Harry, who everyone knew had once dated Cho Chang, could have been hiding in her home. After allowing the Death Eaters to search her home, and proving to them that he was not there, they left and she didn't hear from anyone for quite some time. She spent her time working on her own spell casting and establishing more wards around her family home. For nearly a year, she only received the occasional letter and only saw her family once.

Then, May 2nd came.

On that day, late in the evening, she went into her old bedroom to see her dresser had caught fire. Instantly putting it out, she looked around to see what the cause could have been. Suddenly, she noticed something shiny on the floor. Picking it up, she instantly recognized it as her old DA coin and it was warm, obviously it had started the fire. She had kept in her drawer as a memento of her time in the DA and the time she had spent with Harry. Looking at it closer, she noticed that the normally standard serial numbers had changed.

0954365741 had turned into: _HogsHeadNow__  
_

Hog's Head. Now. Instantly, Cho turned and Apparated into the main room of the Hog's Head. The rest, as they say, was history. Once the battle and the memorials were over, everyone had to go back to work. Seeing Harry and Ginny happy together did terrible things to Cho's heart. So, rather than stick around, she fled. She begged her way into the Department of International Magical Cooperation and became an Ambassador to the Korean Peninsula. She worked there for two years before spending two years in France, living with her family who spent more than half the year now.

Then, in 2002, news came that Harry Potter had been spotted in the United States.

One month later, the position for Ambassador to the United States of America. Needless to say, Cho was the first person in line to apply for that job. Cho slowly realized that some of what Roger and Daphne had said was right. The only reason that Cho was really interested in the US job was Harry. She made it her mission to find as much information on him as she could. About one year in, she realized that she didn't even care whether he was with her. She just didn't think that, after all he had done for the world, he should be alone.

As Cho continued thinking about all of this, she didn't realize that she was slowly absorbing the warmth of the large fireplace in front of her and within only a few minutes, she was asleep in front of the fire.

* * *

**6:00 PM**

**Potter Manor**

"Cho!"

Cho thought she could hear someone shouting her name. But that couldn't be right. Harry wasn't due to be back for another day or so. Just as she put her head back down, she heard it again. This time, it was much louder and it was accompanied by someone grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.

"Cho!" the voice said as it shook Cho out of her slumber.

Cho, finally waking up, looked up to see Hermione standing over her, a crazed look in her eye.

"Hermione?" Cho asked in confusion. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Come on, you need to get up." Hermione said in a hurry. "We've got to get moving!"

Slowly, Cho stood up, suddenly realizing that she had actually fallen asleep while she was working.

"What's the big rush, Weasley?" Cho asked as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"We need to get to St. Mungo's."

Even as groggy as she was, Cho could hear the change in her voice. While before she had been panicked and rushed, she slowed down when she spoke that last sentence as if she was only interested in saying it once.

"Why?" Cho asked cautiously. "Why do we need to go to St. Mungo's?"

"Cho, we don't have time for this." Hermione answered, her rushed tone returning.

"Hermione, I'm not going anywhere if y-"

Suddenly, Hermione turned around and grabbed Cho by the shoulder with a force that Cho didn't think that she had possessed.

"It's Harry." she said simply.

Instantly, Cho understood: something had gone wrong on their trip.

"I can explain more when we get there but right now, we need to go."

Nodding, Cho grabbed her cloak and threw it over her shoulders before approaching the fireplace. Grabbing a handful of the Floo Powder, she threw it into the fireplace and didn't even wait for the fire to change. Instead, she jumped in and shouted her destination: "St. Mungo's!"

With a whip and a pull, Cho fell through the fireplace and onto the magical hospital.

* * *

**6:13 PM**

**St. Mungo's **

Nearly fifteen minutes later, Hermione and Cho joined the rest of the Weasleys and Luna Lovegood outside Harry's hospital room, waiting for the time when they would be able to see him. As Cho looked around the room, she saw a look of despair that she didn't think she could ever remember seeing. However, she certainly felt it. If there was anyone out there that was going to stop The Jester, it was Harry. She knew that without him, they could very well all be lost.

However, she knew that just like the rest of them, this wasn't about the wizarding world. Instead, this was a personal hurt. The one person that would sacrifice himself over and over again for all of them was laying in a hospital room, alone and potentially dying.

Suddenly, Healer Demelza Robins came out of the door to Harry's room, a dejected look on her face. Sadly, she took a seat next to Ron.

"How is it, Dem?" George asked sadly.

"I was here when they brought Ron in earlier this year. It was bad. But, this makes that look like a cakewalk."

"What happened?" Cho asked, both to Demelza and Ron. Both of them shook their heads.

"Harry and I got separated. I'm not sure what happened. I found him like they're seeing him now." Ron said sadly.

"Harry's got more broken bones than anyone I've ever seen. Internal bleeding everywhere and what looks like it could be potential brain damage. What's amazing is that he's still alive."

"What are his chances?" Hermione asked, tears streaming down her face.

"Honestly, if it were anyone other than Harry, I would expect permanent brain damage, a limp for several years and the internal damage could never go away. However, as it is, it's Harry. He's taking the blood we've been giving him well and much of the internal damage appears to be rather superficial, stuff that will clear up in a few weeks. The brain damage is small, if there's any. The broken bones is the most immediate problem. It looks like he could need a cane for some time. However, we're giving him Skele-Gro and he's already in the process of recovering."

"Is he awake?" Ron asked softly.

"No." Demelza said shaking her head. "He won't wake up for a while. When he does, he's probably going to be very sore. I don't have the kind of pain-reliever that's going to be needed for the amount of damage that was done to him."

"Recovery?" Cho asked.

"Like I said, I imagine that he'll need a cane for at least a month after he wakes up. The worst of the bone damage was done to his left leg. He's going to need to rest a lot and he's going to need a lot of support from you to make sure that he doesn't over-exert himself. His magic is responsible for a lot of why he'll heal. I think that within two or three months, he can be relatively normal again with some occasionally pain."

"How much will he recover?" Ron asked, a terrified look in his eyes.

"He'll probably end up with some recurring pain in his legs and I imagine he won't regain some of the mobility he had before. Other than that, the brain damage will heal and he'll be the same surly Harry we knew before."

"What about Quidditch?" Ginny asked. "He signed a contract with the Pride of Portree a few days ago."

Cho watched as Demelza took a steadying breath before answering her.

"I wouldn't expect him to be back quickly, if at all. However, I do think that if there's anyone that could bring themselves back from this, it's Harry."

* * *

**April 12, 2004**

**3:31 PM**

**St. Mungo's**

Everything hurt. His head was pounding, his arms ached and his legs were as sore as he could ever remember them being. The sun shining in his face probably didn't help with the headache. Neither did the screaming.

"HARRY!"

Harry painfully rotated his head to see Cho sprinting down the length of the hall that he was in before collapsing into the chair next to him and placing a giant kiss on his lips. While he certainly liked that, even that hurt him and his obvious discomfort must have forced him to release a groan because instantly Cho backed away.

"I'm sorry." she said softly. "I forgot that you would be sore."

"How long was I out?" Harry asked, knowing exactly what had happened.

"Twelve days." she said softly as Harry turned to notice Hermione and Ron making their way down the hallway towards him.

"Hey." Harry said softly as they got to his bed.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Hermione asked fearfully.

"I'm really sore and my head is pounding but I'm alive."

Suddenly, Demelza Robins came into the room and began performing some checks on Harry. He remained silent while she performed her tests. Once she was done, she stood up and spoke.

"Alright, you can be awake. Now, since you have friends in the room, I'm going to ask you a few questions. If your friends don't know the answer, we'll move on."

"What's this for, Dem?" Harry asked in confusion.

"We think you may have some minor brain damage. If you can answer these questions, then we can at least clear you there."

"Fine."

"First, what's your middle name?" Demelza asked.

"James." Harry responded quickly. Demelza checked with Ron and Hermione to see that he was correct.

"Good. When were you born?"

"July 31, 1980." Harry responded. Again, she checked and saw that he was correct.

"Alright, good, good. What day did the Battle of Hogwarts take place?"

"May 2, 1998." Again, another positive.

"One more, Harry. What kind of wand do you have?"

"11 inches of holly with a phoenix feather from Fawkes, Albus Dumbledore's phoenix." Harry asked, finally getting a bit perturbed by the questions. "Can we be done with this yet?"

"Of course." Demelza replied. "There shouldn't be any long lasting mental damage. In an hour or so, I'll come back and we can run some structural checks to see how you're responding to pain and whether you can walk and such."

"Alright. Thanks, Demelza." Harry said, watching as his former teammate walked out of the room. Once she was gone, Harry turned to his friends. "So, twelve days? I bet you three were a wreck."

"Shut up, Potter, or Hermione will make sure you stay in this bed." Ron said with a grin.

"Will do." Harry said with a grin as he painfully attempted to sit up. Unfortunately, he only got part of the way up before a pain shot through his back, forcing him back to the bed.

"What happened, Harry?" Cho asked with concern.

Harry knew that he was going to need to tell this story and while he didn't want to right now, he knew that now would be better than any other time. They would have to solve the mystery some time.

"Well, Ron and I found out where The Frenchman lived and we headed there to look for anything that could give us a location on the Jester or more information on the Network. We Apparated to the location that we had been given..."

* * *

**March 31**

**5:16 PM Paris Time/4:16 PM London Time**

**5 Rue Louis Rouffe**

**Marseilles, France**

"Are you kidding me?" Ron said next to him as they landed in the street in front of The Frenchman's home.

"I guess not."

While Grindelwald and The Jester had lived in large mansions in the middle of nowhere with magical protections, it appeared that The Frenchman was much further down on the financial totem pole. His home was an moderate apartment building in Marseilles.

"How do we know which apartment is his?"

"Check for wards." Harry replied. "I'm certain that if he's going to live in town like this, he's going to ward his apartment."

"Fine. Let's just get moving. I want to get home."

"Me too." Harry said as he stepped forward to start checking wards on the various doors in the building.

As Harry climbed the third set of stairs, he suddenly sensed magic pushing back on his sensory spells. Very quickly, Harry knew that he was getting close. Waving his wand, he sensed the push coming from the door just on his right.

"Ron." Harry said softly, causing his friend to turn around and look at the door that Harry was looking at. "This is it."

"You certain?" Ron asked.

"Positive." Harry replied before starting a series of complicated wave motions in front of the door. As Harry started to deconstruct the wards on the apartment, he could tell that the magic performed there was incredibly complicated. However, he also knew that unlike at The Jester's home, he couldn't set them all off. The way Christoph had created these wards created a collapsible net. If Harry tried to force any of the wards down, they would all fall apart on top of each other and the apartment would be closed forever.

For nearly thirty minutes, Harry worked to disable the wards. In all of his years as an Auror and specifically his time as a Curse Breaker, Harry could remember a more complicated set of wards. Thankfully, they still weren't beyond Harry's ability and nearly forty minutes after he started, very tired from the effort it took to take them down, he removed the final ward from the apartment.

"It's done." Harry said weakly.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Harry replied. The look on Ron's face suggested that he was not entirely convinced but he let it go anyway. "Let's go in."

Harry stepped forward and opened the door that he had worked so hard to be able to open. When he opened it and looked inside, he instantly chuckled.

For some reason, Harry had forgotten that The Frenchman had been a wizard and a very good one. Harry had been expecting a normal Muggle apartment. Instead, what he got was a massive and darkly decorated house that was hidden from the rest of the world. Harry was instantly reminded of 12 Grimmauld Place which didn't exist in the Muggle world. He also knew that the Black Family had magically expanded the house for it was much larger than a normal brownstone house.

"Blimey." Ron said softly. "Didn't expect this."

"Me neither." Harry added. "Let's start looking around.

Thankfully for the pair of them, it didn't take them long to find what they were looking for. On the second floor of the apartment, Harry found two libraries on opposite sides of the hall. Once he stepped inside, he knew that they had found what they were looking for. Just like it had been at Grindelwald's castle, there were papers and pictures magically stuck to the walls that weren't covered by bookshelves.

"Take the other library." Harry told Ron. "Look at some of the books if you have time but mostly focus on the papers on the walls."

"Will do, mate." Ron said before turning and walking out of the room.

Separated from Ron, Harry turned around and made his way into the heart of his library. While there were pages all around the room, none of them held any new information other than some speculations on other members of the Network. As Harry wondered around the room, he noticed the shelf of books closest to them. Specifically, he noticed the titles of three books.

_The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts  
__Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century  
The Boy Who Lived and The Dark Lord: A Story of Connected Souls_

Harry knew the title of all three books. He had read the first two during his time in Auror Training, even though both of them expounded rather incorrectly on the events of his own parents' death. He also knew the third one because it was biography that he had allowed written when he lost his money. Looking at the rest of the shelf, he noticed that all of the books on that same shelf were about Harry and Lord Voldemort. But then, the shelf above it housed an entire collection based on the events of the life of Grindelwald.

However, it was the bottom shelf that was the most interesting. On the bottom was a collection of books on a topic that he had never seen before: legendary creatures. Taking one of the books off the shelf, he noticed that it spoke about the existence of angels and demons within our world. Harry scoffed as he read through the ridiculous book which went into great detail on the existence of the imaginary creatures. Placing the book back on the shelf, he noticed that all of the books on that shelf covered the same subject.

But, it was the last book on the shelf that made him the most curious. Grabbing it by its cover and pulling it off the shelf, he noticed that it was an extremely ancient King James Bible. In fact, Harry opened it and saw the date at the bottom of the first page was 1611. Harry wasn't sure if that made this a first edition but it had to be close.

Opening the book further, Harry was surprised by what he saw. Someone had taken the old book and written in it! Hermione would have been furious, Harry thought. Regardless, he noticed that there were no actual words written. Instead, someone had gone through and underlined certain names. As Harry stood there and read, he finally understood the connection between the names underlined.

They were all angels.

_How could someone as talented as Christoph believe in something like angels? _While Harry was certain that angels did not exist, there was something strange about The Frenchman's obsession with them. Putting the book down, Harry continued to look around. At the end of the room was a chalkboard. On the board was one sentence written in huge letters:

**WHAT IS HE?**

What Christoph meant by this he couldn't be sure but he knew that it couldn't be good if he was questioning something like this. Just then, Harry noticed two things sitting on the table in the middle of the room. The first was a set of letters and as Harry approached the table, he could see that they were sent by The Jester. The second was a Pensieve with a memory already floating in the waters.

Harry also noticed an owl sitting perched in the corner of the room. Struck with inspiration, Harry wrote a quick reply to one of the letters that The Jester had sent and then put a simple Tracking Charm on it. Wrapping it up, he took it to the corner of the room where the owl sat.

"Can you take this to Azoli?" Harry asked innocently. The owl did not move. Suddenly, Harry remembered that the bird probably only reacted to orders in French. Quickly, Harry thought about the brief amount of French that he knew, hoping that he could piece together an appropriate answer.

"_Donner a Azoli?" _Harry said in the most basic French that he knew. However, it worked. The owl stuck out its leg, allowing Harry to tie the letter to its leg before taking off out the nearest window.

Watching as the bird disappeared from view, Harry turned back to the table and the Pensieve. For some reason, he thought it would be important to view this memory. Taking a deep breath, Harry plunged him head into the Pensieve and felt himself pulled down into the memory of the Frenchman.

* * *

Harry landed in the middle of a crowded walkway in the middle of Paris. Looking around, he saw the Frenchman sitting alone at a table at a streetside cafe. Rushing over towards him in order to make sure he missed nothing, Harry took a seat next to Christoph. For several minutes, he did nothing but read his newspaper, taking occasional sips of the coffee in front of him. The newspaper said that the day's date was May 14, 2002. Suddenly, a voice that he had thought he would never hear again spoke up.

"Bruno Christoph."

Harry whipped around in his seat to see Noah standing directly behind him. He looked exactly as he had before he had died in Alaska.

"Noah, please take a seat." The Frenchman replied in perfect English.

"I will, thank you." Noah replied as he took the seat across from Christoph, placing Harry directly between the two of them. To say that Harry was confused was seriously selling it short.

"Now, what did you call me here for?"

Finally, Christoph closed his paper and looked at Noah with a fire that Harry knew couldn't mean anything good.

"I think I'm close." he said excitedly.

"How close?"

"I'm fairly certain I know every member of The Network now."

"Except the leader." Noah replied simply.

"Except the leader." Christoph confirmed. "However, I'm definitely the lowest ranking member. We both know Azoli is my boss. Then, Voldemort and Grindelwald were both on the same level as her or one higher. I know that Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy were both recruits at some point."

"So this mystery leader trained Voldemort?"

"Not just Voldemort, but Grindelwald and Azoli as well."

"Interesting." Noah replied softly. "What do you think you now about the leader?"

"He's incredibly powerful. In fact, I'm not even entirely certain he's human."

"What makes you say that?" Noah asked with concern.

"First, his age. In order to have trained Grindelwald, he would have had to have been of appropriate age to train him. We know that he disappeared from the world after leaving Godric's Hollow when he was sixteen. That would have been in 1898. More than likely, he would have to have been at least thirty then which makes him born in 1868. That means he's got to be at 135 years old."

"There have been older wizards." Noah said simply.

"Yes, but older wizards that still made Voldemort unwilling to talk about him and Azoli afraid of him. Those are two incredibly powerful people that are still, to this day, fearful of them."

"True. So what do you think he is?"

"I'm not one hundred percent sure. However, I'm leaning towards believing that he is some kind of super human or some forgotten race of humanity."

"Bruno, I'm not working with madness." Noah replied harshly. "I don't work in legends. Do you have proof of this?"

"No, just speculation based on somethings I've heard from Azoli."

"Fine. Keep working on it. How is Azoli, by the way?" Noah asked.

"She's fine, Noah. She still hates you for not joining us."

"I had better things to do."

"I'm certain." Christoph replied. "Tell me again, why is it so important to find out this information?"

"If we're going to bring down The Network, we need to know who's in charge." Noah replied, obviously getting tired of their conversation.

"Please just tell me you aren't going to screw me over when we take over."

"I reward those who serve me." Noah said darkly. However, Harry could hear something in his tone that gave Harry a glimpse as to what he was thinking. As Harry listened to the conversation, he thought that, at some point, Noah had convinced the Frenchman that he wanted to take over the world. However, Harry knew Noah and he knew that he wanted no such thing. He just wanted to bring the Network down and he knew that the best way to do that was from the inside.

Suddenly, someone sat down at the table across from him. The man wore a cloak of all black that covered his face, preventing him from identifying their newest guest.

_I believe you have seen enough, Harry Potter._

Then, just as suddenly as the man sat down, Harry felt himself pulled out of the memory.

* * *

Landing on the floor, Harry rolled over to see that the man in the cloak was not a part of the memory. Instead, he had been someone who had entered the Pensieve with him and pulled him out.

_Stand._

Harry realized as he followed the order that he wasn't hearing the voice with his ears. Instead, he was hearing it in his mind.

"How are you doing that?" Harry asked the man in the black cloak.

_"That is not important." _the voice said. _"What is important is that you continue to get closer to me."_

This man was the leader of the Network. Suddenly, Harry gripped the handle of his hand that much tighter. He was rarely frightened and he wasn't sure that he was now but he knew that Voldemort and The Jester didn't fear this man for nothing.

"I'm only getting closer to you because you choose to employ people like The Jester and The Frenchman to do your business."

_"What makes my business your business, Mr. Potter?"_

"When your business is to try and take over the world."

_"I see." _the man in the cloak said before suddenly opening his mouth and speaking roughly. "Well, I suppose that does put us at odds, doesn't it?"

"It does." Harry replied firmly. "The Network is set up to destroy the planet using Dark wizards from all over the world to do it. Meanwhile, you stand in your ivory tower, watch the the world goes under and then reap the benefits."

"Harry Potter, you cannot possibly understand what is going on here." he replied. "There is so much you don't know, so much you will never know."

Suddenly, without a wave of his wand, Harry felt the air begin to press up against him. Soon, he was thrown through the air and hit the bookshelves behind him before collapsing to the ground. Quickly, Harry rushed to his feet and fired a Stunner back at the man.

This time, he did move his arm but there was no wand in his hand when a shield raised up in front of him. Again, Harry felt the air around him push but this time, he was ready. He lifted his wand and silently threw up a Shield Charm. Harry felt the energy of the man's spell blast against his shield, just as powerful as anything he had ever felt.

"You truly are talented, Mr. Potter. I've never known anyone to be able to withstand that spell before. I may actually have to use my wand."

Sure enough, the man withdrew a black wand from his cloak before aiming it at Harry. Quickly, a flash of green exploded from the wand and rushed towards Harry. It was only with a quick dive out of the way that Harry was not killed on the spot.

Rolling with his momentum, Harry jumped to his feet and leveled his wand and for the first time in his life, cast the one curse he told himself he would never use.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

The green blast rushed towards the cloaked wizard who simply ducked out of the way. Then, the man in the cloak drew his wand and unleashed a fury of Stunners, Cutters, and Exploding Curses. Finally, one of the Cutting Curses hit Harry in the wand hand, causing him to drop his wand. With a flash, the cloaked man called the fallen wand to him, catching it in mid-air.

"Too bad, Harry Potter. You really are the best wizard in the world. Unfortunately, that doesn't count for anything here."

Instantly, a red jet of light blasted out of the dark man's wand, hitting Harry square in the chest. For the next ten minutes, Harry was tortured, burned, thrown, banished into walls, cut, broken and beaten down in every conceivable way. After a particularly nasty Cutting Curse went straight through his stomach, the man relinquished his control over Harry's body, allowing him to collapse to the floor.

_"I will let you live, Harry Potter. Just this once. Now you know the power that I wield. Do not get in my way again. Either way, I will be back for you."_

As Harry felt the last of those words echo inside his mind, Harry saw that the man had disappeared, his wand had been placed in front of him and Ron finally broke through the door to the room. Seeing his friend rush towards him, Harry passed out.

* * *

**April 12, 2004**

**4:02 PM**

**St. Mungo's**

"Oh my god." Cho said softly next to Harry. Looking around, he saw that all of his friends were looking at him with looks of horror on their faces.

"Harry, what are we supposed to do?" Ron asked from the seat next to him.

"I'm not certain. I know that I can fight that man again. I just need to change tactics. But a man of that power is going to be able to recruit rather easily. We're going to need to do the same."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked from the end of his bed.

"I mean that when I get out of here, I'm reorganizing Dumbledore's Army."


	16. XVI

**May 3, 2004**

**2:24 PM**

**Potter Manor**

After three miserable weeks of physical therapy and bed rest, Harry was finally released from St. Mungo's. Demelza had kindly asked him to remain on bed rest for another week. However, she had to have known that Harry had no intention of doing that at all. Equipped with his new cane, Harry limped into the main living room of Potter Manor. Following him was Cho, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom.

Once everyone was seated, Harry began.

"I know that you disagree with me but we need to bring back Dumbledore's Army." Harry said, starting their planning meeting. "Hermione, I know that you don't want us to slip into lawlessness. I very much understand that. However, we need our eyes and ears out there and I know that Robards won't give me access to the every Auror."

"I understand where you're coming from." Hermione replied softly. "I just can't get over the fact that we're going against the Ministry. But it's not like before, Harry. We are actually in charge of this Ministry. Aside from Robards, we have the support of every important head in the Ministry."

"But what if we have to do something that the Ministry wouldn't want to be associated with?" Neville asked. Regardless of the fact that Neville had been largely absent from much of Harry's actions since his return from exile, Harry felt that he couldn't restart Dumbledore's Army without him. The same went for Luna. She had been back in the country since late March but Harry had spent much of his time in St. Mungo's and therefore, he hadn't been able to see her.

Apparently, within the last few months, Xenophilius Lovegood had fallen very ill. So, in order to help him, Luna had come back to England from her trips aboard in order to help him run The Quibbler. There were rumors that Luna had accepted that her father had been a bit of a story teller, convincing her that certain, and very imaginary, creatures had existed. Apparently since she had taken over the Quibbler, they hadn't made a single reference to Wackspurts.

Ginny was there because she had been there with him at the Department of Mysteries just like the rest of them. Plus, she had been good to him while he had been in St. Mungo's, much to Cho's chagrin. Harry had spent nearly all of his time in St. Mungo's convincing Cho that he was not interested in Ginny, only her.

Cho. Cho was there because Harry wanted her there. She was the only person that had been there for him every day in the hospital. She had done everything he had needed without him every having to ask for a thing. While Harry had never thought that it would be possible, he would have had to admit that he had forgiven Cho for her youthful actions and had even started to love her.

"I agree with Neville." Harry replied. "Just like The Order of the Phoenix, we are forming this group because we know that there are certain things that Ministry officials cannot do and cannot be seen doing. Therefore, we use the DA to protect the Ministry while still working against the Network."

"I think it's the only way we can do it, 'Mione." Ron added next to her, looking almost afraid to disagree with her. Harry knew that while their relationship was lightyears ahead of where it had been just a few months ago, they were still on rocky ground.

"I suppose you're right." Hermione replied with a sigh. "How are we going to do it to protect those of us that really work for the Ministry?"

"Ginny, Luna, Cho and I will lead any field teams." Harry answered. "You and Ron will be responsible for working with the other Ministry members in the DA."

"That does sound like a nifty plan." Luna said brightly. Harry could only smile at her peculiar choice of words.

"So how do we do this?" Cho asked.

"Set the coins for two days from now. The meeting will take place here." Harry said to Hermione before turning to Ron. "Ron, tomorrow I need you to remind the old members within the Ministry about the meeting. I'll handle everyone who isn't at the Ministry."

"You know you technically work for the Ministry, right?" Hermione reminded him.

"I know but if I'm implicated, you can always go back on the 'everything is my fault' theme." Harry said with his fabled crooked grin.

"Whatever." Hermione replied, rolling her eyes.

"Everyone go home and get some rest. In two days, we're going to start tracking these people and taking them down."

* * *

**May 5, 2004**

**7:00 PM**

**Potter Manor**

Harry stood, hiding under his Invisibility Cloak, watching as the people filed in for the first meeting of the reformed Dumbledore's Army. Harry saw plenty of people that he never thought he would see again.

Alicia Spinnet had walked in ten minutes earlier with a man that looked like a boyfriend or husband. It wasn't for another couple minutes before he realized that that man was Ernie MacMillan.

After her had been, Katie Bell and Oliver Wood hand in hand. The pair of them were married or on their way there as Harry could see the massive ring on her finger and the bump on her stomach.

The Patil twins walked in accompanied by Parvarti's husband, Michael Corner and Padma's boyfriend, Cormac McClaggen. Of all the people that Harry had not wanted to see again, Cormac McClaggen had to be towards the top of that list.

Zacharias Smith and Justin Finch-Fletchey came in together, both wearing the robes of Hit Wizards.

Then, just as the meeting was supposed to start, a large group of people came rushing in, obviously not wanting to be late. They moved too quickly for Harry to get a good look at who was there, although he thought he saw George and Angelina in there somewhere. Knowing that it would take him awhile to get down there on his bad left leg, Harry instead chose to take off his cloak and Apparate down to the front of the room.

Harry had stuck in wand next to his throat and was preparing to magically amplify his voice when another large group of people walked in. Aberforth Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Rubeus Hagrid, Sturgis Podmore, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Percy Weasley, Fleur Weasley, and bringing up the rear was Arthur Weasley. It took a moment before Harry realized who this group was and why they were there before Arthur said it himself.

"Harry, we are the remaining active members of The Order of the Phoenix. We wish to join Dumbledore's Army." he said formally. It took a minute for Harry to compose himself. While he had never been an official Order member, he had very much associated himself with them. Now, what was left of the Order, including two Ministers of Magic, were joining _his _Order.

"Take a seat." Harry said with a smile. "I'll ensure that Hermione gets you a coin."

As the last large group took their seat, Harry looked to the back and noticed someone that he knew had not been in either group. As quickly as he could, he marched to the back of the room. As he did, he saw Cho moving down the outside aisle with him. As they reached the back, Harry drew his wand and held it menacingly to his side.

"I'm going to ask once. What are you doing here?" Harry asked roughly.

"Harry, I invited her." Cho said quickly.

Taking this information in stride, Harry continued. "What's your name?"

"Tracey Davis." the woman said softly. "I was in your year at Hogwarts."

"I don't recognize you." Harry replied. "What house were you in?"

"If you don't recognize me, doesn't that give you an answer?" Tracey replied with a snap. Instantly, Harry realized what she meant.

"I don't see in houses anymore." Harry said with a smile. "I just wanted to make sure that you weren't here and trying to spy on us."

"I wasn't doing a very good job of hiding now, was I?" Tracey said smartly.

"True. Please, follow Cho and take a seat." Harry said quickly before turning and marching painfully back to the front of the room.

Once he was there, he turned to the crowd gathered and finally was able to get the meeting started. Amplifying his voice, Harry spoke.

"I would like to thank everyone for coming." Harry said, his voice echoing loudly throughout the hall. "Now, before I tell you all the very specific reason why you're here, I can tell you more broadly. Six years ago, this group of people sought to defend us from the power of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Each and every person in this room was present on that fateful day when he was finally defeated. Today, I'm going to ask you to stand up again and defend Britain again from a powerful evil."

His initial speech over, he turned and grabbed a quill and parchment from the table behind him.

"If you wish to help again, come to the front and sign this parchment. If you do not wish to help, you may leave now. As you have not signed the parchment, you will only remember this meeting until you go to bed tonight. After that, you will remember an incredibly enjoyable experience during the few moments you were here. Now, please sign and help me. If you do sign, I don't think I have to tell you that you can know what to expect if you betray us."

Chuckles scattered around the room as everyone remembered Marietta Edgecombe and her newly formed acne after she had betrayed them years earlier. For nearly fifteen minutes, people made their way up to the front of the room to sign the paper. Once they were done, he saw that every person in the room had signed the paper, a much better turnout than he had expected.

"Thank you, everyone." Harry said. "Now, the actual reason you are here in far more complex. As we all know, The Jester still runs free all across Europe. She was the mentor of the international terrorist known as the Frenchman. Have I lost anyone so far?"

Seeing no one raise any objection, Harry continued.

"Based on information we've found, we now know that these two are not working alone. In the past, they worked alongside the likes of Lord Voldemort and Grindelwald. Together, they formed something that they have simply called The Network."

Harry looked out on the crowd. He could already see that some of them were frightened by the simple mention of the Dark Lord. Hopefully they would be able to last through the rest of his brief speech.

"Now, while they may have been working for the same organization, they did not work together, per se. Instead, they worked independently with their own people working towards the same goal. In his youth, it was Grindelwald's goal to add Albus Dumbledore as a member of the Network. Thankfully, he was unsuccessful. Voldemort used his Death Eaters as his own operatives although I believe that he sought to include Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy as among the more senior members and possible members of the Network. Then, there was the Jester. At different times, it appears that she worked for Lord Voldemort and now is working independently. In turn, we have proof that the Frenchman worked with all three of them, The Jester, Voldemort and Grindelwald."

Suddenly, Harry saw a hand raise from the back. Leaning to his left, he saw that it was Hannah Abbott.

"What's your question?"

Slowly, Hannah stood where she was. She appeared to be nervous to ask. Thankfully, she worked up the nerve to speak up.

"If Grindelwald, You-Know-Who and The Jester were all on the same level, who of them was in charge? It has to be The Jester, right? She's the only one still alive."

"That's actual right where I was going next, Hannah." Harry said before flipping the chalkboard behind him over. On it, he had drawn a diagram of the Network from the Frenchman's notes. "The Big 3, Grindelwald, Voldemort and the Jester, were all on the same level. However, based on testimony from The Frenchman and other notes we've found of The Jester's and The Frenchman's, we know that there is some person that is one level higher. He is the leader of the Network."

"How do we know that they didn't just work together?" Zacharias Smith shouted from the back of the room. Just like in the past, Harry still wanted to hit him whenever he spoke.

"Because I've met the leader of the Network." Harry replied. "It's how I ended up needing this cane."

Harry couldn't have imagined the impact of those simple words. In a flash, a chill of fear surged through the room as people whispered their thoughts to the people around them. He knew they were all asking one question: how can we beat him if Harry already lost to him?

Acting quickly, Harry lifted his hand, silencing the crowd.

"Thanks." Harry said before starting again. "Despite what it may look like, I will beat this man the next time we meet. I've fought him and I've seen how he fights and I know that I can beat him. That is not for you to worry about. What I need from all of you is your cooperation. We don't know much about the Network right now. We aren't exactly certain what their motives are. However, we are going to find out."

"How? We don't know where they are!" a unknown voice shot out from the back of the room.

"Actually, I believe that we do. When we were in France, we took a look through The Frenchman's things. When we were there, we found some letters that The Jester had sent to him. So, I wrote a reply, placed a Tracking Charm on it and sent it back to her via The Frenchman's owl. It has since stopped at an apartment in downtown London. Within a couple days, we will be sending a group to search through that apartment. I don't expect that it will be where she is hiding. However, I do think it is her local HQ and that it will give us a lot of good information. Now, this is how we'll do it."

Harry spent the next hour splitting the DA into various groups and giving basic instructions before allowing Hermione to pass out coins to those that had either lost them or had not been a part of the Army in the last war. After that was done, Harry dismissed the group in front of him. However, several members stayed behind to talk to him for nearly another hour. Finally, it appeared that everyone aside from Cho and Hermione was gone.

"Well, I think that went well." Hermione said as the last group walked out. "I think we have the people we need."

"It's strange." Harry admitted. "This is basically the replacement for the Order and I'm in charge. Just seems weird."

"You'll do fine." Cho said softly before placing a small kiss on his cheek. "You did wonderful."

"Thanks." Harry said, his face reddening with embarrassment as Hermione looked at him with a smart look. Suddenly, Harry noticed that not everyone had left.

"Can I help you?" Harry asked as Tracey Davis approached him.

"Um, I wanted to thank you for letting me stay." she said, her voice incredibly soft. "I know that not everyone was very happy with you."

"I haven't been in school for seven years. So it's been that long since I cared about that."

"Well, I really appreciate it." Tracey said. "Is there any way that I could ask you one more favor?"

"You can ask." Harry said. "I'm not exactly sure what I can do."

"Alright, well, here's the deal. I'm friends with Daphne Greengrass who's married to Theodore Nott."

"I'm sorry for that." Harry said quickly.

"You know, for awhile, I wasn't. When we were in school, Daphne wasn't as crazy as some of the other Slytherins. However, in the past two or three years, she's really just gone over the edge with the whole Pureblood thing. I think marrying Nott had a lot to do with it. Anyway, my point is that if there's anyone in the country that's going to support the Network, it's going to be Theodore and Daphne."

"Alright. I'm not sure how this is turning into a favor." Harry said skeptically.

"I know that Daphne has had me followed in the past and she's constantly looking for dirt on any of her friends."

"You're worried that she will find out that you're helping us." Harry stated, not in the form of a question.

"Correct. I'm not worried about them finding out, I know she will. What I'm worried about is what will _happen _to me when they find out."

If Harry was correct in what she was asking, and he was sure that he was, she knew that someone was going to come after her when they found out that she was working with him. That meant that she was going to need some kind of protection.

"I assume that I'm correct in saying that you want to be moved to a hidden location."

"Just somewhere to sleep." Tracey said. "I don't trust the people that I work with in the Ministry not to give me up to save their own hides. I can watch my own back when I'm awake, I just need somewhere peaceful to sleep."

Harry thought about this. He had hardly any knowledge of this woman. However, just by watching her, he could tell that she was being honest. In fact, having spent some years fine tuning his Occlumency, he could often tell a person's intention simply by feeling. He had figured something like this, people need protection, would happen eventually. He just never thought it would be so soon. Deciding, Harry turned to Cho.

"Cho, take Tracey and get her set up in the room next to yours." Harry said.

"No problem, Harry." Cho replied before turning to Tracey. "Come on, I'll show you to your room."

"Thank you." Tracey said, an incredibly appreciative look in her eyes. "I'll make it up to you."

"There's no need." Harry replied truthfully. "Just continue to work with the DA and everything will be fantastic."

"I will!" Tracey said graciously before turning to follow Cho up the stairs. Harry watched as the pair of them marched up the stairs and out of sight before making his way to his favorite living room. Taking a seat, it was only moments later when he was asleep, exhausted from a day of overexerting himself.

* * *

**May 9, 2004**

**8:44 PM**

**Potter Manor**

To say that Harry was struggling to be patient was certainly short-selling it. Tonight, one of the small teams that he had established just a few days prior had gone to the location that Harry's letter to the Jester had stopped at. They had been gone for a little over an hour now and while Harry was certain that everything was fine, he couldn't stand waiting to find out.

So, Harry had taken a bottle of his best whiskey into the common room outside his bedroom, lit the fireplace and proceeded to get drunk. The fact that Cho was in the group that he had sent certainly hadn't made things better and if Harry was honest with himself, she was probably a large reason why he was so worried. She had certainly come to mean a lot to him over the past few months and while he certainly disliked that he allowed anyone to get close to him, he couldn't say that he minded having the beautiful witch around.

"Harry?"

Standing quickly and nearly falling over because of the whiskey, he raised his wand and saw Tracey Davis standing in the doorway to his room. Harry, even in his mildly drunk state, realized that he could have done something terrible just then.

"Tracey." Harry acknowledged her. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted some company. I'm in for the night and I can obviously see that you're worried about Cho. I thought maybe I could join you."

Harry considered the woman in front of him for a second before replying. Despite the fact that she had been living in his house for the past few days, he still had hardly seen her and knew almost nothing about her, having taken Cho's word that she was alright. Thinking about that for a moment, Harry decided that maybe he should get to know his house guest more.

"Of course, sit down." Harry said, motioning towards the other chair in the room.

Smoothly, Tracey walked across the room, taking a seat in the chair across from him. For several minutes, neither of them spoke, instead choosing to stare at the fireplace in silence. Finally, she spoke.

"Where did you go when you left?" she asked quietly.

Harry thought about her question. For all of the time that he had been back, everyone had just been concerned with the fact that he was back. Other than those that had been told, she was the first person to ask him where he had been.

"I spent almost all of my time in the United States. Eventually, I settled in Alaska."

"Alaska? Why Alaska?" Tracey asked him, as if he was crazy for having gone there.

"I wanted to disappear." Harry replied simply. "There's no better place to disappear than the edge of the world."

"I guess. I hate cold weather though. I can't imagine being somewhere that cold."

"Yeah, it's fairly cold." Harry said dumbly.

Again, the pair of them chose to sit in silence for a few more minutes. Harry continued to drink at a rate which would make a very unpleasant person sooner rather than later. It was several minutes of staring at the fire before she spoke again.

"Did Cho cash in for me to stay here?" Tracey asked, referencing a very Muggle phrase.

"Not exactly." Harry replied. "I told her I was doing it because you had come on her invitation. However, I did tell her that I severly hoped that you wouldn't do anything to make her regret inviting you."

"I won't, Harry."

"Well, I don't know that, do I?" Harry shot back. "I hardly remember you from school and this is honestly the first time we've ever spoken. I trust Cho. I didn't used to but I do now and that means that I trust her ability to judge character. I don't trust you, not yet anyway."

"I can understand that." Tracey said softly.

Everything about this woman confused Harry. She spoke and acted so timidly. She had asked for Harry's protection from a group of friends that she readily admitted she was afraid of. However, Harry could also see something underneath that. The fact that she had been willing to ask for help, to sacrifice any pride she had, there was a bravery in that. As a Slytherin, she had joined the newest edition of Dumbledore's Army and she had finally decided to separate herself from her friends. There was bravery there, as well.

Harry considered himself to be very good at assessing the heart of a person. Tracey may have been a Slytherin but she had lost that cunning over the years. She didn't have an edge to her eyes and she didn't seek to outdo anyone. Silently, Harry hoped that she was able to get that back. Harry had realized long ago that the best person was not a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff, Slytherin or Ravenclaw. No, the best person was the person that explified the best in all four houses. While Harry knew that he didn't always do that, he thought the best way for the new DA to be successful would be to emulate that.

That meant that a little Slytherin could go a long way.

Suddenly, Harry heard movement downstairs. Stumbling out his chair and grasping his cane, Harry limped down the hallway to the stairs. Moving as quickly as he could and grimacing the whole way down, Harry finally reached the main floor to see the group that he had sent to the Jester's London HQ: Cho Chang, Zacharias Smith, Oliver Wood and Cormac McClaggen, who was loudly complaining that things hadn't gone as he had expected because no one had listened to him.

Resisting the urge to punch McClaggen in the face, Harry approached Cho.

"How did it go?" Harry asked, resting heavily on his cane.

"Are you alright?" Cho asked, placing a delicate hand on his face.

"Fine. Just a little drunk." Harry said quickly. "Now, did you find anything?"

"We have an address in Paris. No letters. We figured they finally caught on to how we were gathering all of our information."

"How did you find the address then?"

"We found it in an address book that was inside a desk. I imagine that she forgot that it was there. Either that, or-"

"Or she left it there to draw us to where she is." Harry interrupted. "She's seeking a confrontation. She's either getting impatient or her boss knows that he hurt me and is asking her to draw me out to finish me off."

"What do you think?"

Harry was about to answer when suddenly someone came bursting through his front door. Looking passed Cho, he noticed that it was Hermione, looking as stressed and harrassed as he had ever remembered her looking.

"Harry!" she yelled as she approached him. It wasn't until she got up closer when he realized that she was bleeding. Bracing himself, Hermione fell weakly into his arms. Laying her down gently on the tile they stood on, Harry assessed the damage. It was a rather deep gash in her right side. Thankfully, it was nothing life threatening.

"Hermione, how did this happen?"

Unfortunately for Harry, Hermione had been so worked up that she could hardly breath let alone speak. It took two or three minutes for Harry to calm her down before she could speak. When she was finally able to breath in a normal patter, Harry asked her again.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

"She was there." Hermione said, still breathing roughly. "The Jester attacked the Ministry."

* * *

**9:03 PM**

**The Ministry of Magic**

**London, UK**

Minutes later, Harry, after taking Hermione to St. Mungo's, walked into the Atrium at the Ministry. It was a mess. The statue in the center of the Atrium had been destroyed and many of the Floo Fires on the side of the room had been blown away from the walls, leaving giant holes. There were bodies lying all over the floor, some of them intact and others much less so.

Suddenly, Percy Weasley approached Harry.

"Harry, you need to get out of here." he said seriously.

"Are you crazy? The Jester did this! I'm looking for clues." Harry replied quickly.

"I know that, Harry. However, Robards is on a rampage. He thinks that you are working with her and that's why you haven't caught her yet."

"That's insane. I'll deal with that fat pig if I see him but for right now, I'm getting to work on looking for leads."

"You'll do no such thing, Potter."

Slowly, Harry turned around to see Gawain Robards, flanked by four Aurors, all of them with their wands pointed at him.

"You've gone absolultely made, Robards." Harry spat. "If you think for one moment that capturing me is going to do anything but put more people in danger, you've got another thing coming."

"Gawain, lower your wand." Percy ordered him.

"Shut your yap, Weasley. Your daddy may have controlled me but you'll do no such thing. I know for a fact that Potter is working with that bitch and I'm taking him in."

"Really, Robards? Where's your proof?" Harry shouted, subtly removing his wand from his pocket in his cloak. "Where's one shred of proof that I am working with her?"

"Proof? I don't need proof, Potter! Everyone knows you're a criminal and this just proves it!"

"Gawain, this is the last time, lower your wand!"

"Weasley, if you say one more thing, I-"

Suddenly, Harry raised his wand and blasted Robards straight in the chest with a silent Stunner. Within seconds, Harry had disarmed and knocked out the other four Aurors. Even though Harry was drunk and injured, they stood no chance. Once he saw that they were done, Harry turned back to Percy.

"We'll have to talk to your father about him." Harry said, breathing deeply and wincing from the pain in his leg.

"Yeah, he'll be gone tomorrow."

"Can you just make that decision?" Harry asked in confusion.

"I can now." Percy said before turning and indicating Harry to follow him. Confused, Harry took up his cane and did as the Junior Minister asked. Walking towards the Minister's office, Harry noticed that the wreckage was getting worse and worse. Blood was spattered all over the walls and there were more and more dead bodies and more of the bodies were clad in Auror robes. Finally, they got to the hallway where his own office was, just steps away from the Minister's office.

That's when he saw him. Laying on the floor as peaceful as anyone could have been was Arthur Weasley. Harry looked desperately for any sign of life, any sign that this was a cruel joke. After all, Arthur Weasley had raised the masters of the practical joke. Yet, he knew he would never do that. That, plus the lack of any signs of life told Harry all he needed to know.

Arthur Weasley, surrogate father to Harry Potter, member of the Order of the Phoenix, father, husband and friend, was dead.

"Oh my god, no." Harry whispered, tears forming in his eyes.

"I had gone home." Percy said softly next to him. "Normally, I work late with Father. This time, I wanted to see Penelope since I had spent so many late nights here. She came in ten minutes later. It wasn't very smooth. She forced entry which set off the alarms. Unfortunately, that meant more people were here when she attacked as Aurors came rushing back to the Ministry. If she had just been smarter, it would have just been Father. Instead, we think nearly 100 people were killed tonight."

"How did it happen?" Harry asked, his voice rough.

"The alarm goes off at my house." Percy said softly. "When it went off, I immediately rushed back to the Ministry. When I saw the path of destruction, I knew where she was headed. Following the mess, I turned the corner and saw her dueling with someone. It wasn't until I peeked around the corner that I saw that it was Dad. He held up pretty well against a witch of her ability. Unfortunately, his age caught up to him and she hit him in the chest with a Killing Curse. I hid behind a desk until she disappeared. More than anything, I wanted to chase after her but I knew that I couldn't, that people would need me."

"You made the right decision, Percy." Harry replied. "Who else knows?"

"No one. The rest of the family knows that there's been an attack. They're all holed up at the Burrow."

"I'll tell them." Harry said forcefully. "I should have caught her."

"Harry, you couldn't have expected this."

"I should have."

Suddenly, a junior Ministry official approached the two of them from behind.

"Minister Weasley, the news conference has been set up. You'll give the address in one hour."

"Minister Weasley?" Harry said suddenly.

"In the case of a death in the Minister of Magic, the Junior Minister becomes the Interm Minister until the Wizengamot approves his position or calls for elections."

"Wow."

"Yeah, not exactly how I wanted to get the job." Percy said, a single tear escaping his eye.

"You'll do your father proud." Harry said softly. "I've got to go. I'm going to tell your family for you."

"Thank you, Harry. There are people that need me here."

"I know. And they need me there."

* * *

**9:36 PM**

**The Burrow**

**Ottery St. Catchpole, UK**

As Harry landed in the grasses outside the Burrow, he took a look at the house that had been his second home for years. Knowing that neither the mother nor the father of that home lived left him with an empty place in his heart that he knew would never be filled. Taking a deep breath, Harry started towards the house, thinking about what he was going to say.

As he got closer, he saw Ginny in the window and tears filled his eyes. Even though she was an adult, she was now an orphan like him. They all were. Harry marched the last steps to the house and slowly opened the back door.

Unexpectedly, he found a wand aimed directly at his face. Looking down the arm it belonged to, he saw the tired face of Hermione Weasley.

"Hermione, it's me."

"Prove it." she said roughly.

"The first time I saw my parent's grave was on Christmas Eve with you." Harry said, telling her something that hadn't been in the book on his life. "It was the day that I fell in love with you."

Blushing madly, Hermione pulled her wand back from Harry's face and then nearly tackled him in a hug.

"How did you get out of there?" Harry whispered into her ear.

"I was coming towards the Atrium when she broke in. She attacked me and knocked me back towards a Floo Fire. I took the Floo to my house and then Apparated to yours."

"Well," Harry started, breaking their hug. "I'm glad you're okay. Who is here?"

"All of them." Hermione said. "Charlie and Bill were orginally both scheduled to go back home early this evening. They had even been on their way there but when they found out that an attack had happened at the Ministry, they decided that they needed to be stay in the country."

"Good. Can you go get them?"

"Sure. What's this all about?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"A DA Mission that I need all of them for." Harry lied.

It took several minutes to round up all of the Weasleys and get them into the dining room. As they all sat down, Harry nodded at them individually. Finally, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Ileana, George, Angelina, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all sat in the main dining room.

"As you all know, there's been an attack on the Ministry." Harry started formally before stopping to prevent himself from breaking down.

"Harry, what is it?" Ginny asked softly and fearfully next to him.

"The Jester attack the Minister with one purpse: kill Arthur Weasley."

"Is she serious?" George said with a grin. "She wants to mess with the man that betwitches cars and plays with Muggle electrical appliances. So, what did Dad do to her?"

The humor in the question made it impossible for Harry to answer. Instead, tears simply began flowing from his eyes as he looked around the room, knowing that he had let down the only family he had ever know.

"She killed him." Harry said simply through his tears.

"What?" George asked seriously.

"She cursed her way to his office where he was waiting for her. He dueled her and put up a pretty good fight according to Percy."

"No."

It was a solitary word. Only two letters but those two letters, coming from the mouth of Ginny Weasley, were all that could be said.

"He's dead?" Charlie asked softly from the other end of the table.

Slowly, Harry nodded his head before standing up.

"He died, fighting to the end. Percy is the acting Minister until the Wizengamot rules otherwise. He's going to need your support. Make sure you're there for him." Harry said before making his way to the door.

However, just before he opened the door and left, he turned back to the stunned family that sat around the dining room table of the Burrow.

"I'm sorry." Harry started simply. "It was my job to find her and I didn't move quick enough. If I had moved quicker, he would still be here and I wouldn't have to come and give you this terrible news. I'm so sorry."

With that, Harry opened the door and rushed out the door on his way to the edge of the grounds and the wards that went with them. He was nearly to the edge of the grounds when he felt someone jump on his back, tackling him to the ground. As he fell, Harry withdrew his wand and, despite his injuries, rolled back up on to his feet. Even in the fading sunlight, Harry saw Ron stand up a look of fury in his eyes.

"Ron, I said-"

"I know what you said, mate!" Ron shouted. "What could possibly make you think that this is your fault?"

"It was my job to find her and to stop her and I failed!"

"Harry, you've found more information on her in a few months than we've found in the two years that she's been active! When we do find her, it will be because you did it!"

"But, I still didn't do it quick enough! Your dad is DEAD because of that!"

"This has nothing to do with you! My dad was the Minister of Magic! Even if you hadn't been around, he would have been a target for her and he knew it! He was talked about how he was surprised that she never came to the house! He knew every risk of being the Minister and chose to take the job anyway!"

"If I had caught her, he wouldn't have had to worry about it!"

"If it wasn't her, it would just be someone else!" Ron shouted.

Suddenly, Hermione stepped right up to Harry and planted a massive kiss right on his lips. In that instant, Harry forgot everything. When she let him go, Harry could hardly breath, let alone continue his argument. Hermione stayed close to his, whispering in his ear.

"We all love you, Harry. I love you."

"Hermione, that's not goi-"

"Stop it." she ordered softly. "Stop pushing us away. We know who you are. We know that and we stay with you anyway. So this time, just stay with us. We need you here, Harry."

Finishing her own method of persuasion, she stepped away from Harry, looking at him knowingly. However, there was one person there who didn't particuarly like her method.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Ron shouted.

"You weren't getting to him." Hermione said simply. "I thought I'd try another tactic."

"Well, it worked but let me know if you're going to go around kissing my best mate more in the future."

"I'll try." Hermione replied before looking back at Harry. "Should we go to the Ministry?"

"No." Harry said softly. "Pack up your stuff for a few days. You're coming to be guests at Hotel Potter."

* * *

**May 11, 2004**

**12:00 Noon**

**The Atrium at the Ministry of Magic**

It had been a long couple of days to say the least. However, Harry knew that this was going to be the hardest part: Arthur's memorial at the Ministry. There would be a small gathering of family and such afterwards but nothing formal would occur there, no service. This would be Arthur Weasley's big farewell to the world.

"I would like to thank everyone for coming today."

The voice belonged to Kingsley Shacklebolt. The former Minister would be conducting the ceremony today in honor of his successor.

"I would like to thank you for coming." he repeated. "Today, we are here to honor the life of Arthur Charles Weasley. Before we get to the speaker, I would like to give you brief history of Arthur's life. Arthur was born on February 6, 1950 to Septimus and Cedrella Weasley. He got rather good marks while at school before moving on to the Ministry. During his year's at school, he met Molly Prewitt who he married just months after they graduated from Hogwarts. Despite his good grades, Arthur was only able to get a job in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office where he remained until 1996 when he was promoted to..."

Kingsley continued to give the rest of Arthur's biography. For Harry, none of that mattered right now. What mattered was that Arthur was dead and regardless of what his friends had said, he felt there was something that he could have done to prevent it. Looking from his place at the stage at the Weasley family in the front of the crowd, he couldn't help but think about how much different their life would have been had they not involved themselves with him. Sure, Arthur may have never made it all the way up to Minister, but he would have lived. Fred would have lived. Things would have been so much different.

He had been so lost in his thoughts that he had missed Percy speaking and introducing him. Suddenly, he noticed that everyone in the room was looking at him and he knew that it must have been his time to speak. Rushing to the magical microphone and podium, Harry withdrew a heavily folded piece of paper and laid it out in front of him.

"Sorry everyone." Harry said quickly, eliciting some chuckles from the crowd.

Harry took a look at the words that he had prepared. Reading them, he realized that they didn't sound anything like them. So, he took the paper and crumpled it up and threw it of to one side of the stage. He heard a couple people gasp, thinking that maybe he wasn't going to say something. Quite the opposite actually, he wanted to say something about Arthur from the heart, not something he had written two days ago.

"Arthur Weasley was sworn in as the Minister of Magic on January 6th of this year. His death two days ago makes him the shortest tenured Minister of Magic ever, a term of only five months and three days."

Harry took a deep breath and looked down at the family in front of him. Then, in just one moment, he realized that they were also his family. He could remember the exact day that he had met each every one of them. He could vividly remember a memory between just the two of them. Whether it was Bill at Shell Cottage, George and Fred giving him the Marauder's Map or Fleur saying goodbye to him at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, he knew all of them as if they were his family. Harry realized that could only be the case if they were his actual family, blood or not.

"Five months and three days." Harry repeated. "He's the first popularly elected Minister in the history of Britain. He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and he was present at the Battle of Hogwarts. Unfortunately, none of that really matters when it came to Arthur Weasley."

Looking down directly at the Weasleys, he continued: "Arthur Weasley was a Weasley first and foremost. Nothing means more to a Weasley than to be part of the Weasleys, which means to be an incredibly strange and strong family. The Weasleys were the first wizarding family I came into contact with and I thought they were absolutely insane. They had a son who worked with goblins, another with dragons, one who was obsessive compulsive about his grades, a pair of twins who thought it was their life's goal to blow up everything, another son who had the nerves of a noodle at times and nerves of steel at others and a daughter with a temper as legendary as any person I've ever."

Seeing the smile on their faces, Harry decided that he was on the right track.

"The mother of the Weasleys was as caring as person you could possibly imagine while also crossing over onto borderline imprisonment of her children. She made some of the greatest dishes I've ever had the pleasure of eating and cared for me more than the only flesh and blood I knew had. But, honestly, it was Arthur that was the strangest of them all and that was due to his love of all things Muggle. He couldn't get his hands on enough Muggle objects and he took every opportunity he could to grill me on the latest Muggle invention, even though I stopped following the Muggle world the second I stepped into this one."

All around the room, he could see people laughing. He knew they weren't laughing at him or his stories. Instead, they were thinking of their own memories of Arthur, as strange and interesting a man he had ever met.

"Like I said, Arthur was sworn in on January 6th." Harry said with a smile on his face before he quickly sobered up. "He was sworn in and I wasn't here to see it. The man who had been the father I had never had the luxury of having was celebrated the greatest achievement in his political life and I wasn't here. Why? I wasn't here because I was angry. I was angry because I felt that I had been abandoned by those closest to me and by everyone else. It wasn't until a few days ago that I realized that my family never left me, they were with me the whole time. No, it was only a small group of angry people that betrayed me and hated me for all I had done."

Turning to a large picture of Arthur and his old Ford Anglia that had been put up behind him, he spoke directly to him.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you on your big day. I'm sorry I wasn't there when Molly was sick and I'm sorry I wasn't there for all of the hardships that I left behind when I took off."

As Harry turned around, he looked down at the Weasleys.

"Your father was the most incredible man I ever had the fortune of meeting." he said softly before facing the crowd again. "Arthur wouldn't have wanted any of this. He would have thought it was silly. But it isn't. A man like Arthur Weasley needs to be celebrated. So that's what you should with the rest of your day: celebrate! Go out and visit Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and pick up some Extendable Ears from his son, George! Go look at a Muggle automobile! Have fun with your day because that is what Arthur Weasley would have wanted! Goodbye, Arthur. We'll miss you."

Feeling that he had said exactly what he had wanted to, Harry gave a small bow and took his seat on the stage again. That was until he was attacked by a flurry of long red hair. As he hit the stage behind him, he noticed that it was Ginny laying on top of him, hugging him furiously.

"Thank you." she whispered in his ears.

"No problem, Gin."

* * *

**11:14 PM**

**The Office of the Minister of Magic**

**London, UK**

"What are the casualties like?"

Late in the evening following Arthur's funeral, Harry met with Percy and the rest of the DA leadership inside the office that Percy's father had inhabited until just a few days ago. They met to discuss the attack on the Ministry and the new information that Cho's group had discovered at the Jester's London HQ.

"95 deaths, 112 injuries." Percy said gravely. "Senior officials Roger Davies, Terry Fitzgerald and Amos Diggory were killed. Cornelius Fudge was also killed, although he didn't die until earlier this evening."

"That's too many." Ron whispered next to him. "We need to find her and quick."

"Well, we got an address from an address book that she left in a desk at her London HQ." Cho replied. "We think it's probably a trap but-"

"It may be one we want to trip." Percy completed before looking at Harry. "Are you certain that you can trip it without getting caught?"

"If it's her tripping the trap, even with my mobility issues, I will take her apart. If it's the other guy, then we may have other issues. But, I think it's her."

"How many of you will go?" Percy asked.

"Probably twelve people or so. No one that works at the Ministry other than me." Harry replied, noticing the angry looks he was getting around the room. "I know you are all angry at me but as we just saw, we can't afford to have any more Ministry officials leaving."

"She attacked at night, Harry!" Hermione shouted. "We aren't going to be here then!"

"Neither will anyone else." Percy said confidently from across the desk. "I'm instituting a new policy. The Ministry will be closing at seven o'clock each evening. Anyone caught in the building will be prosecuted for trespassing."

"Seriously?" Hermione said. "I do a lot of work late here."

"It's for everyone's safety. There is too much at stake right now for us to be sitting here late at night without the numbers we need."

"I guess." Hermione replied, looking very disappointed.

"Anyway, tomorrow I'm taking twelve people to Paris via Portkey." Harry said to Percy. "Can you give us a place for everyone to meet? I would prefer not to take down the wards on my house again."

"Yeah, I think we can do something for you."

* * *

**May 12, 2004**

**12 Grimmauld Place**

**11:00 PM**

The group that Harry had assembled to go with him to Paris was a strange one. Harry was obviously there accompanied by Ginny and Luna, the other two members of the DA leadership that didn't work at Hogwarts or the Ministry. Tracey wasn't observing anyone at the school that day and had volunteered to join them. George and Angelina had left their shop with one of the higher employees to come with him today. Ernie MacMillan had left his desk at Gringott's for the day. Hannah Abbott had closed down the Leaky Cauldron to join the rest of the group. Justin Finch-Fletcher, who Harry had no idea what he did for a living, was there as well.

But the strangest members of the group were the last three because, up until a few days ago, they had never been members of Dumbledore's Army. They were Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva McGonagall and Fleur Weasley.

"Alright everyone, this is how this is going to work." Harry said, speaking over everyone. "Percy has set this Portkey to go at 11:05 so I only have a few moments to explain this. We're going to split into three groups. Group one will include myself, Ginny and Fleur. We're going to be the ones actually going inside the penthouse. Group two will be led by Minerva and will include Luna, Tracey, Justin and Ernie. Group three will be Kingsley leading George, Angelina and Hannah. Group two will take the north side of the apartment building, spacing yourself around the building evenly. Group three will do the same on the south side of the building. If any one of the three of us going in send a Patronus, you are to follow whatever command it gives to a T, is that clear?"

Harry looked around the room to see everyone nodding with understanding. Seeing that, he continued.

"We believe that this is intended to be a trap set up by the Jester to take me down permanently. I have no intention of letting that happen. However, if it does, mission command falls to Ginny, is that understood?" Harry said, again noticing agreement among anyone. "Orders are to be followed to the letter. If you have a question, wait until we get back and ask. While we're there, we move and we do it quickly and quietly."

Finishing his prepping speech, Harry looked at his watch and noticed that they had only thirty seconds before the Portkey would send them away. Giving everyone an indication that it was time, they surrounded the Portkey, a large serving tray that was big enough for a group of twelve to grab it simulatneously.

"Three, two, one." Harry whispered before feeling that familiar pull behind his navel and disappearing into nothing.

* * *

**Paris, France**

**11:06 PM**

As they landed roughly in the alley a block away from the building they were aiming for, most of the group actually succeeded in landing on their feet. Only Hannah and Justin fell and Hannah only feel because Justin fell on top of her. Looking embarrassed, they both scrambled to their feet as quickly as they could. Once everyone was ready to go, they moved quickly. Within moments, the other two groups raced around the block and were out of Harry's sight.

Going as fast as Harry's still sore leg could move (even though he had Hermione give him a Pepper-Up Potion that would cause him to ignore much of the pain), the smallest group raced towards the apartment building. The building itself was immaculate and Harry could tell that only the wealthiest of the wealthy could live there. In fact, with the penthouse having on of the best views of the Eiffel Tower in the city, he knew that alone would jack up the price.

"Fleur, do your work." Harry nodded to the half-Veela.

Quickly, Fleur strode through the door and began speaking to the desk man. Even standing nearly twenty-five yards away, Harry could feel the hair standing up on the back of his neck as Fleur worked her magic. Seconds later, she nodded her head and the three of them sprinted across the lobby and towards the elevator. Again, Fleur worked her magic on the elevator operator, forcing Harry to bite down on his tongue so that he could fight the urges that he was feeling based on Fleur's persuasion techniques. Harry could tell that Ginny noticed what was going on with him, giving him a weak smile. Thinking about it, Harry was proud of himself for not ripping her clothes off when she looked at him.

Once Fleur got her way with the man, they all packed into the elevator and rode it straight up to the top. As the elevator crawled to a stop and the doors opened, Harry, Fleur and Ginny poured out of the doors and began searching the apartment. Even for being inside an apartment building, it was enormous and Harry suspected that it was magically enlarged just like the Frenchman's apartment had been.

For nearly thirty minutes, they searched the apartment and found nothing. No sign of anything magical in the least. Harry repeated checked rooms for wards and for hidden passages but found nothing.

Just as he was ready to give up, he suddenly noticed that the elevator was moving, coming up from the bottom floor. Swiftly, Harry turned to the other two.

"I want you to go in the room furthest away from here." Harry ordered. "If I need you, you'll know."

Harry could tell that both of them looked apprehensive about leaving him here with her alone.

"What did I say about orders?" Harry said, a small growl coming into his voice.

Understanding the line of questioning, the two witches quickly made their way out of the room, leaving Harry alone. Seconds passed slowly as Harry watched the elevator level increase on the sign above the door. Finally, it reached the floor he stood on and the door opened.

Inside stood Azoli Vinogradoff, The Jester, with the elevator operator dead on the floor.

"Harry Potter." she said smoothly. "So nice to see you again."

"It's too bad I can't say the same for you." Harry replied, flicking his wand so the blinds collapsed on all of the floor length windows that surrounded the apartment. The last thing that Harry needed was a warning on the International Statue of Wizarding Secrecy."

"How is your leg doing?" she asked, feigning concern.

"It will be much better when you're not around." Harry replied, venom creeping into his voice.

"But won't you miss chasing me? If I'm gone, what will you do then?"

"We both know you aren't the only person left to chase."

"Oh. You want to chase _him? _That's what this is about, is it? I'm not good enough for you?" she said, anger started to influence the volume of her voice. "We'll just have to see, now won't we?"

"Certainly." Harry said, before raising his wand and attacking.

His silent Torture Curse blasted The Jester directed in the chest, causing her to scream in pain and collapse onto the floor. Once she recovered, she quickly leapt to her feet and struck back, firing her own Torture Curse in reply. Harry stepped to the side and then stepped forward, launching a stream of curses.

With that, they were off. Neither of them played much defense, choosing to fight fire with fire instead. Unlike the last duel between the two where Harry chose to play defense to wear her out, he was refusing to let her settle in on a steady stream by launching quick barrages of spells that broke up the rhythm of her attack. Even though they rarely hit, Harry could tell that he was seriously frustrating her.

Finally, one of her curses got through to Harry, launching him backwards through the wall that separated them from the reception area they had been in and the dining room just off of it. Flying through the wall, Harry landed on the dining room table, forcing to collapse under the impact. As quickly as he could, Harry rolled away, knowing that this was the kind of opportunity that she would be looking for.

As he rolled away, Harry saw a Killing Curse strike exactly where he had been. This time, she wasn't going to try and play with him. Instead, she was going for the quick kill. This meant one thing above all: she respected him enough to not play with him. This made her ultimately more dangerous because she wouldn't bad mouth or taunt him. Instead, she would go for the kill shot.

Standing up, Harry launched his own counter attack. Once he finished his quick barrage, Harry went back to the strategy that had worked so well during their first battle, with one alteration. His constant Shield Charms were broken up only by the occasional attack that kept her from being able to truly open up with the speed that she would have liked. Harry could tell from the look of rage on her face that was getting angrier which would only make her sloppier.

Sure enough, she sent three Killing Curses that Harry stepped out of the way of before lowering her wand just a few inches. Since the hole this produced, Harry fired.

_"Diffindo!"_

The white light shot across the room, hitting her in the face and spattering blood all across the wall behind her. When she turned back around, the whole left side of her face had been peeled back and there was a large cut across her face that even appeared to have cut into her eye a bit. Smiling with the result of his action, Harry fired again, this time choosing three quick Stunners. As he expected, she blocked all three rather easily before stepping back towards him. However, in the time it had taken for her to block them, Harry had gotten close. Too close for her, as it turned out, as Harry launched a solid left uppercut to her stomach, knocking her to the floor.

He knew that most wizards would frown upon resorting to Muggle tactics. However, it was unpredictable for most witches and wizards and it gave him a distinct advantage. As she tried to catch her breath, Harry leveled his wand again.

_"Expulso!"_

The spell hit her directly in the chest. Just like he had been thrown through the wall behind him, she was launched backwards through two walls and a cabinet full of fine China. As Harry looked through the holes that her entry had caused, she stood up, her face gushing blood and a large shard of glass sticking out of her shoulder. Harry had to admit that she was tough. Raising her wand, she instead aimed it at the walls in front of her and with a wave, blew them away leaving an open space between them.

"I've been looking forward to this, Potter." she said weakly, breathing deep from pain and exhaustion. "Everyone said that before he became a useless drunk, Harry Potter had been among the best duelists in the world. Unpredictable and dangerous, you never knew what you were going to get when you fought him. His tactics never the same and his methods unusual, there was no way to prepare for him. You don't disappoint."

"I do try to please." Harry said boldly.

"Oh, I can tell." she said before lining up her wand towards him again. "It's too bad that even at your best, you're no match for me."

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

The green curse came flying at him. Thinking back to their first duel, Harry lined up his wand, standing strong as the green blast got closer.

_"Confringo!"_

The two curses collided in midair, causing a massive explosion that blew all of the glasses out of the many windows that surrounded him. Falling to the floor, Harry aimed his wand towards The Jester again.

_"Diffindo!"_

This time, it didn't simply hit her eye. Instead, it removed her left leg. Screaming in pain as her leg slipped away from the rest of her body, she collapsed to the floor, holding the stub that used to be her leg. Standing up weakly, Harry limped towards the fallen witch. Aiming his wand at her leg, he fired.

_"Incendo."_

Flames shot up from the stub as he quickly cauterized her wound, causing the bleeding to stop. However, Harry to imagine that it would actually be more painful that if she had simply bled out.

Good.

Walking around towards her head, Harry stepped on her hand, causing a bone in her thumb to break. Before he began his interrogation, Harry saw Fleur and Ginny run into the room.

"Harry?"

"It's all good." Harry said with a smile before looking down. "Ms. Vinogradoff and I were about to have a nice talk. Weren't we?"

"Go fuck yourself, Potter." she said weakly. So, Harry pressed down harder on her hand.

"Do I have your attention?" Harry asked mockingly. He had never imagined himself as someone who truly enjoyed causing pain to someone else. However, The Jester was a different breed. She had worked for the man who had killed his biological parents and had actually killed his adoptive father. To say that Harry was angry was a severe understatment.

"Yes." she whispered softly in reply.

"Good." Harry said with a smile. "Now, who attacked me at Christoph's home?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Quickly, Harry lifted his boot and brought it down on her hand, causing another finger to break. Harry knew that he could have done all of this easier with magic. However, for many witches and wizards, the fear of actually physical injury was overwhelming.

"Harry!" Ginny shouted from across the room.

"He calls himself the Lost Angel!" she shouted in pain.

"The Lost Angel?" Harry mocked. "What kind of ridiculous name is that?"

"I don't know his real name." The Jester explained beneath him. "All I know is that he recruited me. He found me when I was younger. I think I was fourteen or fifteen. He said that I could control the world. I am the best witch I know. However, my family was very poor. I knew that I would never get anywhere. So, I changed my name and joined him. When he told me I was ready, I was forced to duel him. He nearly killed me just a few seconds."

"That's too bad. Now, why does he call himself The Lost Angel?"

"Because that's what he is." she said, suddenly appearing fearful. "He's something different. I've worked with him for years as a spy with Lord Voldemort and then directly underneath him. I had thought I'd seen power when I joined Lord Voldemort. Then, The Lost Angel visited Voldemort and thrashed him about like a rag doll. He's something else, something not human."

"You actually believe this shit, don't you?" Harry replied with a sneer. "He may be powerful but he's only human. Angels don't exist. They're only existance is in the form of children's bedtime stories."

"You'll see, Harry Potter. When he kills you, when he makes you beg for mercy, you will become a believer."

"I doubt that." Harry replied as he aimed his wand at her. "See you in hell."

"He lied to you."

"Who did?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Christoph. The Frenchman knew everything. In fact, he'd been working with The Lost Angel to discover how much we knew about each other. He lied to you."

"He wasn't working with The Lost Angel. He was working with someone else." Harry retorted. "Plus, he's dead."

"What?" she asked in shock.

"Lucius Malfoy killed him under your order." Harry said softly. Suddenly, she shifted to an entirely different mood: one of arrogance.

"Well, in that case, I'm happy. I thought one of you had gotten to him."

"Nope." Harry replied, reaiming his wand. "By the way, tell him we said hi."

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

With a green flash, the life left the eyes of The Jester, ending her reign of terror. Looking up, he saw a look of fear in the eyes of Fleur and Ginny.

"Harry, don't you think we should have taken her back to London?" Ginny asked softly.

"She died in battle." Harry replied. "We would have never been able to get her home. The man she works for would have seen to that."

"I guess." Ginny replied. "Are we done here?"

Harry nodded before speaking. "Let's go home."


	17. XVII

**May 28, 2004**

**5:32 PM**

**Harry Potter's office**

Two and a half weeks after Harry's defeat of The Jester, things should have been better. The news that Harry Potter had taken down The Jester had slowly permiated through the wizarding society over the past two weeks and it was now common knowledge that both The Jester and The Frenchman were dead. A week prior, they had held a nationwide celebration to honor Harry and the deaths of their two greatest nemesises were gone.

For Harry, though, things were different. Despite the fact that The Frenchman, responsible for the death of at least 149 Frenchman, 144 Englishmen, and 100 Spaniards, and The Jester, international terrorist responsible for previous attacks on London, Madrid, New York City, Moscow, New Dehli and Paris, were both dead, Harry wasn't happy.

He wasn't happy because he knew that even though The Network as a legitimate threat was dead, its leader was nowhere to be found. The amount of sleep that Harry had gotten over the last two weeks had dwindled to almost nothing as Harry traveled across the planet searching for places that "The Lost Angel" could be hiding. He had visited Malfoy Manor, empty until Draco came back from abroad, he had gone to Little Hangleton to visit Riddle Manor, and he had even gone to Nurmengard, Grindelwald's prison, to look for him.

Over this time, he had ignored every single person that had come to be important to him. He had passed much of the leadership of the DA off to Ginny and Neville, who had led the DA during their resistance while at Hogwarts. In that time, they had continued their search for the Lost Angel. However, nothing had been found and it was driving Harry to the brink of insanity. He knew that somewhere out there, the man in the cloak was waiting for the heat to die down and then make his next move. It was the single most frustrating thing that he had ever experienced. He knew that he hadn't done anything yet but the man in charge of leading Voldemort, Grindelwald, The Jester and The Frenchman was going to be up to something bad.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up to see Ron Weasley standing in his doorway, an almost fearful look on his face. This was par for the course recently. Since Harry had come back from Paris, bloody and angry as hell, it seemed that everyone was afraid of him. Right now, Ron was no exception.

"Ron, how did it go?" Harry asked.

"It's a mess." Ron replied as he sat down at one of the chairs opposite Harry's desk. "All fifteen dead. No sign of damage, no sign of forced entry and no sign that anything was fixed. There were so many people in the room that it couldn't have been more than one or two people."

"Apparation?"

"They had to. They would have had to Apparate into the room silently and kill 15 of my best Aurors without missing and doing it so quickly that no one tried to defend themselves."

"Bad for the office, huh?"

Ron nearly burst out laughing at the question.

"I've been on the job for eight days and I already might get kicked out."

Ten days ago, Percy had officially fired Gawain Robards for his behavior during the attack of the Ministry. After spending that time looking for a replacement, he found the most interesting and best one: Kingsley Shacklebolt. The former Minister, while initially against the idea, had finally agreed when he found out who his Assistant Head and replacement would be: Ron Weasley. Once he heard that, knowing that he would only be taking the job until Ron was ready, he took it. Now, the redhead across from him was in charge of all field missions under the Auror Department.

However, just a few days later and Kingsley and Ron already had a disaster on their hands. After Harry had defeated The Jester, Percy had ordered a complete search and seizure of the London apartment that the Jester had operated from. While they were busy cataloging the information and inventory of the apartment, Ron had ordered a group of fifteen Aurors to station themselves in an apartment across the street. Looking out the largest window, they would be able to see the apartment at all times. From there, they could mark down every single person that entered and exited the building as this was the only entrance for the building.

Fifteen of the best Aurors had been there only four days when the previous night, about one in the morning, Ron hadn't gotten his customary six hour check, which had been due at midnight. Fearing the worst, Ron went to the apartment and saw exactly that. Fifteen dead Aurors with no sign of a struggle or battle. All of them dead in their seats and not a single thing out of place.

"You won't get the boot yet." Harry said with a smile that he didn't feel. "There's nothing you could have done. If he's really that good, then there's something else that we need to figure out."

"What is that?"

"A way to surprise him, instead of the other way around." Harry answered quickly.

"No kidding." Ron replied as he stood up, turning his back to exit the room. Just as he reached the door, he turned back to Harry. "Coming for dinner tonight?"

"I'll do my best." Harry said, knowing full well that he had no intention of leaving his office. In fact, hidden underneath his desk was a blanket and a magically inflatable mattress that he had been sleeping on for four days now. He had only left the Ministry for his trips and to get food and take the occasional shower. He knew that he was a mess and didn't particularly care. The Lost Angel must be caught.

"Harry, don't do that." Ron said quickly. "We miss you. I know that you're frustrated because you haven't been able to find him but you're no good to anyone half dead. How about you come with me right now? You can come to the Burrow, eat some good food and then go home and sleep in your own bed and not on that damn mattress that you have hidden somewhere in here."

"How did you know about that?" Harry asked.

"I didn't." Ron replied with a grin. "I just know that Cho said that you haven't been home in several days and I assumed that you would be staying here."

"Correct, you are." Harry said with a smile. "Fine, let me grab my things."

"Good." Ron replied. "Now I'll survive Hermione's wrath when I get home."

* * *

**6:58 PM**

**The Burrow**

"So, Harry, how's Cho doing?" Hermione asked as they sat down to eat.

"I'm not exactly sure." Harry said, a nervous smile on his face.

"Why not?"

"Well, I haven't exactly spent much time with her recently. We work together but then she goes home and I stay at the Ministry."

The Weasley family was meeting for the weekly dinner. Unlike when Molly had gone to the hospital, Arthur's death had not stopped the weekly meals. Instead, they actually made them bigger. Charlie had been offered the job as Professor of Care of Magical Creatures, replacing Hagrid who had expressed that he was getting ready to retire as a professor and return to his duties as Keeper of Keys and Grounds full-time.

Bill had finally decided to take a promotion with Gringotts and become a Junior Account Manager, the first human to do so in over 200 years. Fleur had come with him and there was word going around that Professor Flitwick was seeking retirement and that she was being interviewed for the Charms position.

However, with everyone home, there had been one problem: The Burrow. No one wanted the house to leave the family but they also had their own homes. So, there were three or four days of discussions among the family that finally led them to the decision they came to. With its location far and away from London, while still being relatively well known among their friends, they would still be able to use it as a sort of "vacation" home. However, they also decided to still return home and have their weekly meals there.

"Harry, you need to go home more often." Ginny said with concern. "I don't understand how you think you're going to catch anyone looking like you do."

"I'll be fine, Ginny." Harry replied to the redhead sitting next to him. "You just need to worry about signing your new contract."

"You heard about that?" she asked softly.

Harry nodded his head. "I work a lot but Ian messages me quite often. He said that he did as I asked. I only really asked him two things so I knew that he had given you your contract."

"What did you ask him?"

"Pay Oliver and get you at all costs." Harry replied simply.

"Why?" Ginny asked, a look of surprise on her face.

"If I'm going to eventually go back to playing Quidditch, I'm going to do it right and I'm going to play with people I trust to do the job. Can't go wrong with a Keeper who is widely regarded as the best in the League and the reigning MVP."

"I guess." Ginny said, a goofy grin on her face. "Did you ask for me to be team captain too?"

"Yeah." Harry admitted. "I just catch the Snitch and I'll run some practice drills if I have to but I have no interest in running the team."

"Well, I do. Do you know how much more you get paid as team captain?"

"I do. But as I'll be getting paid a league high salary for Seekers as it is, I don't think I need the Captain's bonus." Harry said with a smile.

"I can't believe I'm not going to be in Holyhead next season."

"I can't believe I got outbid for my own sister!" George shouted from the other end of the table, a huge smile on his face. "I know we have Krum but still!"

"Krum doesn't have anything on Harry Potter!" Ginny said, a small blush appearing on her face.

"I can't believe we're spending this much time talking about Quidditch." Hermione grumbled quietly.

"Well I can't talk about the case anymore, Hermione. I think I've told you everything."

"Not one thing." Ron said boldly. "We know that it's important, him being powerful and everything. But I want to know why it's so important to you. Occlumency never meant this much and neither did your lessons with Dumbledore. This is a level of obsession that I've never seen from you. Why is it so important?"

"You remember me telling you guys about Noah?" Harry said, looking around the table at a collection of nodding heads. "When we were at The Frenchman's apartment, there was a Pensieve. I took a dive into it to see what it held."

"Why?" Fleur asked. "Why did it seem important?"

"If the Frenchman had been looking at it, if he felt the need to review it, it was important." Harry answered her simply before continuing. "Anyway, when I was inside, I saw a meeting between the Frenchman and my friend, Noah. There, it was apparent to me that Noah was working with The Frenchman to take down The Network. However, it was also obvious that their reasoning was different. The Frenchman wanted to take it down to take over while Noah wanted to take it down forever."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Charlie asked. "I know that I don't know a lot of particulars about your time away but I'm a bit confused."

"It doesn't have anything to do with the case. I just know that Noah found me in Alaska to train me to take him down and for him and for what he gave, I have to do that." Harry replied.

"Well, that's all well and good, but that still doesn't help me convince my sister to play for me!" George shouted as Angelina playfully slapped him.

"I'm sorry, Harry." Angelina said with a grin. "He isn't usually this rowdy."

"Yes he is." Harry said with a smile. "I've spent enough time with him over the years to know that."

"Hey now, Potter!" George said, wagging his finger at him. "Don't you go spreading rumors about me!"

With that, Harry couldn't resist and Harry and Ron spent the next few hours telling everyone the stories of Fred and George that no one had heard, specifically those involving Quidditch. Despite all of the horrible things that had been happening recently in Harry's life, he couldn't help but appreciate the time to laugh and to be with those people who had been with him through all of the terrible times in his life.

Nearly an hour later, Harry finally picked up his things and made his way to the door, saying his goodbyes. Deciding that he wasn't going to go to the Ministry, he walked out towards the edge of the wards where he could Apparate home. However, as he made his way out, he suddenly felt a soft hand on his elbow turning him around.

A week ago, he would have had his cane with him and he probably would have fallen to the ground. As it was, Harry's leg had healed up well and he was able to deal with the torque place on his body as he spun around. Suddenly, just like at her father's memorial service weeks before, he could feel the burst of red hair squeeze him tightly. Every time that she hugged him, his mind wandered back to his sixth year, arguably the happiest time of his life before things went as far south as they could.

"Ginny." Harry whispered softly. "Ginny, I'm with Cho now. I can't do this."

Breaking away from him, Ginny looked up at him, that same fiery look she had given him all those years ago blazing in her eyes.

"This has nothing to do with Cho." Ginny said quietly. "You didn't have to do that."

"You're right." Harry replied. "But, I know that I wanted to play on a good team and I wanted you on that team."

"Why though?"

"It has nothing to do with our relationship, Gin."

"I didn't think it did."

"Then what did you think?" Harry demanded quickly.

"I'm not sure what I thought, alright?" Ginny shouted in reply. "I know that I screwed things up with you, Harry. I know that you had every reason to hate me for the way that I treated you."

"How did you treat me?"

"I treated you like a hero!" Ginny replied. "I treated you like the savior you were! I worshipped you!"

"I didn't need you to worship me." Harry said softly, closing the distance between the two of them. "I needed you to treat me like me. You are my friend, Ginny, and even today, you're one of the people that is closest to me. But I have no desire to be a hero or a savior or someone to be worshiped. I'm Harry and just that. I'm just Harry."

"Why choose me?" Ginny asked, returning to the original topic. Harry had no desire to continue to talk about their failed relationship and was more than happy to go wherever she wanted to go with this. "I mean, I know I won the MVP this season but there are plenty other talented Chasers that you could have asked to play with."

"There are." Harry admitted. "Two things, though. First, they aren't as good as you. Second, they aren't you."

"Thanks, Harry."

"Don't thank me." Harry replied. "I only asked. Thank Ian, he's the one who's paying you."

Stepping closer to Ginny, he pulled her in tight for a hug, this time of his own choice. Embracing her tightly for a few moments, he finally chose to let her go and make his way home.

"I'll see you later, Gin." Harry said with a smile.

"Later, Potter." she replied, returning his smile.

Pleased with how that conversation had gone, Harry quickly turned and walked to the edge of the grounds where he quickly Apparated away from the Burrow and back to Potter Manor.

* * *

**Potter Manor**

**8:11 PM**

Having Apparated from the Burrow and landed rather gracefully in the entrance hall of Potter Manor, Harry began a quick search of the house to determine where everyone was. It took him nearly ten minutes to find the first person, Tracey, sitting in the back living room, watching a blazing fire. Normally, he would have ignored her and gone upstairs. However, while he had been at dinner with the Weasley's, he had decided that he was going to do his best to not be such a hermit. He knew that he was still insanely devoted to his case and it probably wouldn't last long but for now, he would give it a shot.

Stepping into the room, he moved quickly until he came up next to her. What he saw certainly shocked him. She was going over briefs on The Jester and The Frenchman. They were sprawled all over the floor in front of her as she occassionally picked up her glasses to read something in small print. He also saw large filings on Lord Voldemort and Grindelwald. Someone was certainly doing their homework.

"What are you looking for?" Harry asked softly, doing his best not to scare her.

Surprisingly, she had almost no reaction. Instead, she just looked up at him and spoke.

"Looking for connections between the four of them. More specifically, I'm trying to find a time where none of them were active or accounted for."

"Good luck." Harry said with a smile as he took a seat next to her. "Grindelwald has been in Nurmengard since 1945. None of the others were even born yet."

"Well, he is the one I'm least concerned with because of that. I'm looking mostly into the time where Voldemort was gone."

"But Christoph and Vinogradoff wouldn't have been old enough, would they?"

"It depends." Tracey replied with a shrug. "We know for certain Christoph's age. He was thirty-six years old when he died which means that he would have been twelve when Lord Voldemort disappeared and twenty-seven when he returned in 1995. Because you just told us that Vinogradoff was a fake name, we can't be entirely certain her age. However, we can guess that she was probably a few years older than Christoph, placing her at about forty-two at the time of her death."

"How old does that make her when Lord Voldemort disappeared?"

"She would have been roughly eighteen when he disappeared and thirty-three when he came back."

"I can't believe it's been almost nine years since the Third Task." Harry said, a cold chill running down his back as he remembered the graveyard and the horrible resurrection of Lord Voldemort. "Wait, she said that The Lost Angel recruited her when she was fourteen or fifteen, what year would that have been?"

"Roughly 1976 or thereabout." Tracey replied. "Obviously we can't know for certain."

"No but we do know that she was with The Lost Angel prior to Voldemort's collapse." Harry said. "That means that she probably would have known that he was alive."

"So?"

"Find a time between 1980 and 1995 where the Frenchman and Vinogradoff were both missing."

For the next fifteen minutes or so, Harry and Tracey dove through the files before stumbling on what they were looking for.

"In 1982, Azoli Vinogradoff enrolled at the Moscow Finals School, a wizarding school for students who had missed school for some reason. Records show that she had never attended school in Russia or anywhere for that matter."

"She did." Harry said. "Just under a different name. It's probably confidential and there's no way in hell we're getting that information."

"Anyway, from 1980-1982 when she entered school, there was no mention of her anway. During that same time period, Christoph went missing for ten months while on a school field trip to Greece."

Harry couldn't help but think that somehow the two were related but he couldn't imagine how. Voldemort was hiding in Albania. Christoph was missing in Greece. Azoli was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, inspiration struck Harry.

"Do we have a map somewhere?" Harry asked, feeling the adreneline pumping through his blood.

"Yeah, right here. Why?" Tracey replied as she handed him a map of Europe. Taking the map and spreading it out of the floor in front of him, Harry began his passionate presentation.

"Follow me for a second." Harry said excitedly. "Where was Christoph when he went missing?"

"Greece." Tracey replied, pointing at the country's location on the map.

"Correct. Now, where was Azoli?"

"We're not sure." Tracey answered for him.

"We aren't. However, can we not say that if we don't know where she is and if she's supposedly training with the Lost Angel, that she's with him?"

"We can probably say that."

"Good. Where is Lord Voldemort at this time?"

"Albania." Tracey replied, pointing at the map with sudden realization. Looking at the map, she saw the souther border of Albania.

It was shared with Greece.

"Here's my theory and it's weak at best." Harry said with a smile. "Voldemort gets defeated and falls back to Albania for two reasons. First, he knows the area because that's where he found the Diadem of Ravenclaw. Second, if this guys is as good as we think, he knew about the Horcruxes. If he knew about the Horcruxes, he would have known that Albania was as a good a place as any to find Voldemort. So, taking Azoli with him, they went to Albania. Somewhere along the way, they either recruited Christoph or they had already been talking with him or they recruited him there."

"But, Harry, I don't understand. This is great that we know more of the story but why is it important?"

"It's important because it creates the only known time where The Lost Angel, Voldemort, The Jester and The Frenchman were together. All of the active members of the Network in one place at one time."

"I'm lost." Tracey said with a weak smile.

"Don't you see?" Harry said, nearly shouting. "The only reason that The Lost Angel would risk having them all there at the same time was because he felt safe. He knew he was going to be able to protect himself but the odds of all of them escaping if they were found were not good. So, there's got to be something, a house, a castle, something in that forest that acted as some kind of fortress for him. Something to keep them safe."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means that I have a trip to Albania in my future."

* * *

**10:11 PM**

After spending quite some time working through the case files to narrow down the locations of the forest that he was going to have to find in Albania, Harry was ready to go to bed. However, before he did that, he knew that he had to talk to Cho. He expected her to be unhappy and he would understand it. He had largely ignored her for the past two weeks, at least.

So, when he knocked on her bedroom door, he was surprised that she answered.

"Hey." Harry said softly. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." she said, opening the door for him. As he walked in, he saw that much of the room had been redecorated in her own taste. Surprisingly, rather than being pink, her favorite color, she had instead decorated the room in Ravenclaw blue and silver. It made the room seem darker than the rest of the hosue, especially at night.

Taking a seat next to her bed as she jumped up onto her mattress, Harry looked up at Cho. Once her eyes fixated on him, her expression changed from one of neutrality to one of worry.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry that I've been away so much recently." Harry muttered softly. "I wish I could spend more time with you."

"Then let me go on your trips with you." Cho replied with a smile.

"We've been over this." Harry replied harshly. "You know why I go alone."

"Because you're crazy."

"That might be part of it."

Suddenly, Cho got down of off her bed and approached Harry, taking a seat in his place. Leaning in, she kissed him delicately, in a way that only she could.

"I understand, Harry." she whispered softly in his ear. "If I didn't, I couldn't be with you."

"With me, huh?" Harry said with a smirk. "You make it sound like you want to be my girlfriend again."

"I've never not wanted to be your girlfriend, Harry." Cho replied seriously. "I was just an insane sixteen year old at one point in my life."

"Don't I know it?" Harry said mockingly before looking at her seriously. "I promise, when all of this is over, I'll take you wherever you want to go. I'll put Quidditch, The Ministry, anything on hold and we'll just get out of here."

"I'd like that." Cho replied.

For the next half hour or so, Harry and Cho just sat in that chair, talking about all of the exotic places they would go on their trip around the world. Finally, as Harry was describing the cities of California, he noticed that Cho had fallen asleep on his lap. Rather than wake her up, Harry decided to test his leg by picking her up directly out of the chair. Standing gently with her in his arms, he walked the short distance to her bed and placed her down softly. Within seconds, she had nestled herself into her covers and fallen into an even deeper sleep.

Knowing that she was warm and happy with him, Harry left the room smiling before nearly collapsing on his own bed down the hall.

* * *

**May 30, 2004**

**Harry Potter's Office**

**11:56 AM**

"Yes, I understand your concern, Percy." Harry said to the frustrated Minister of Magic seated across from him. "I know that my constant disappearances aren't making things easier for you but I can guarantee you, they are necessary."

"Harry, why won't you tell me what you're looking for?" Percy asked.

"Because if I tell you specifically what I'm looking for and someone asks you, you will have to answer honestly." Harry said, doing his best to reason with him.

"I'm the Minister of Magic. I can-"

"Don't finish what you were going to say." Harry replied. "The last thing we need is another Minister of Magic who is knowingly lying to his constituents."

"Fine." Percy replied, even though Harry could tell that he was upset for having been told off. "Is this going to be your last trip?"

"I certainly hope so." Harry answered, feeling the exhaustion in his voice. Despite the excitement of having another place to look and one that seemed certain to hold a clue or something of the like, Harry was tired of the chase. He was just ready to be done.

"Alright, well I'll let you get back to work." Percy said as he stood up. "Just come back in one piece."

"I'll do my best. Thanks." Harry replied before looking down at the file in front of him. It was a report from the Albanian Minister of Magic on the geography of his nation. It seemed that there were several forests that could have served as Voldemort's hiding place and although none of them had any magical establishments in them, the Minister said they couldn't be certain that there wasn't something hidden in there. That thought alone scared Harry.

Just as Percy left, the younger Weasley walked in.

"You're leaving again, mate?" Ron asked. "Part of me is thinking that you're just setting up a home somewhere else so that you can run away again."

"Funny, Ron." Harry replied, not looking up. "No, I think I've found him."

"Seriously?" Harry said as he proceeded to explain the discoveries that he and Tracey had made two days prior. When he was done, Ron had a strange look on his face. "What?"

"I don't know, mate. It just seems strange that it all works out like that." Ron answered him. "Plus, Tracey wouldn't work for them again after what they did to her."

Ten days earlier, Tracey had raced back to her home to retrieve some personal effects. Once she arrived, she was ambushed by Mary and Blaise Zabini along with some masked friends. While she was surprised that Daphne wasn't there, she couldn't say that she was surprised. What did surprise her was the knowledge that it wasn't Daphne who was having her followed but Blaise and Mary. Mary wished to bring Daphne and Theodore into the fold with them and create an alliance that would gain power within the Ministry. However, the presence of Tracey and her very un-Slytherin ideals was going to bring that down.

Daphne couldn't bear to take down her best friend, Mary had said. For that, Theodore had nearly beat her death. Where she was at now, no one knew. But, she would come back and she would support Theodore and Blaise as they took over the Ministry. When they were done verbally assaulting her, they started doing it physically. Throwing her about her own house while they started torching it was about as terrible as anything Harry could imagine. She had been lucky enough to still have the strength to Apparate herself back to Potter Manor before passing out.

Mary and Blaise Zabini, while reports had been filed, had avoided being charged for a crime in the matter.

Daphne Greengrass-Nott was still missing.

"I suppose your right." Ron replied. "Anyway, Hermione wanted me to tell you that she doesn't want to have to chase you across Europe so you need to be able to come home healthy."

"Tell Hermione that I'll be fine." Harry said with a smile as he finally looked up from the papers on his desk. "She's just worrying."

"When isn't she?"

"Touche." Harry said. "Really, I don't think I'll find him there. I think I'll find some information that will get me closer but I don't feel close enough to get that lucky."

"What happens if you do find him?" Ron asked, a look of worry on his face. Harry knew that he was obviously thinking about his last encounter with The Lost Angel. "I mean, have you been practicing?"

"I have." Harry said with a nod. "I've been working here mostly, trying to work on varying my attacks and utilizing more techniques that he may not be ready for."

"I hope you know what you're doing." Ron said as he stood up. "I wouldn't want to have to tell Ginny that she has to move all the way to Portree only for you to bail on her."

"You won't have to." Harry replied.

"Good." Ron said as he walked to the door. "I'll see you when you get back. Good luck."

"I'll be back before you know it." Harry answered as Ron nodded and then walked out of the door.

Harry was just about into the next report in front of him when his office door opened again roughly thirty seconds later. Without looking up, Harry spoke.

"Ron, did you forget your cloak here again? Hermione's going to kill you if you leave it here."

"I'm not here for a cloak, Mr. Potter."

The moment the voice spoke, Harry understood. Things made so much sense now. Gripping his wand, Harry slowly looked up at the last face he thought that he would ever see again.

"Noah?" Harry asked as he looked into the eyes of his fallen friend.

"Let's go to lunch, Harry." Noah said with a smile. "I can explain everything there."

* * *

**12:35 PM**

**London, UK**

Harry and Noah sat down at a roadside cafe several blocks from the Ministry. Harry's mind was reeling and full of questions. Noah seemed to know this and so he leaned forward.

"Calm down, Harry." Noah said firmly. "You'll make a scene if you don't calm down."

"Are you serious right now?" Harry asked boldly. "Can you actually expect me to be calm?"

"I suppose now." Noah replied with a smile. "So, I suppose we should get this started. We aren't getting any younger, after all."

"I'm not." Harry said. "But you certainly aren't getting any older. How old are you?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Noah said, a totally serious look on his face. "If I had to guess, I would say two thousand years but that's just a guess. We age a little differently that you do."

"She wasn't making it up, was she?" Harry asked. "You really are something different. The Lost Angel in the world?"

"Azoli? No, no she wasn't. She didn't quite know everything but she knew enough and guessed correctly for the rest of it."

"So what are you?"

"I'm the last of the Seraphim." Noah said calmly as if he was discussing the color of the wall behind us.

"What is a Seraphim?"

"Actually, it's one Seraph. More than one Seraph are Seraphim. Anway, the Seraphim, in simplest terms, were a race of superhuman wizards."

"Were?" Harry asked.

"Like I said, I'm the last one." Noah answered, taking a drink of the coffee in front of him. How he could be thinking about something as simple as coffee was beyond him. Of course, he was the immortal being and Harry was the mortal one. "The Seraphim existed more powerfully thousands of years ago. How long ago, even I'm not sure, I wasn't there at the beginning."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"No. I'm actually the youngest of the clan and the only one, as it is." Noah replied. "For thousands of years, there were no new Seraphim. No Seraph mated and none of us died. You see, we are immortal. We can be harmed, although it's difficult, but once we get to peak age, we stop right then and there. However, once we mate, each of the parents give their power to their child. Once the child was born, each parent lost their ability and became normal wizards. Once this happened, they were Obliviated and sent to the rest of the world. For some reason, after centuries of abstinence, the Seraphim felt a need, an urge, to mate."

As Harry watched Noah speak, he couldn't imagine that Noah was truly The Lost Angel. He spoke so smoothly and so eloquently and seemed so genuine that it was impossible to think that he was truly as bad or as evil or as terrifying as he actually was. However, as Harry had watched him continue, he saw something hiding under the surface and while he wasn't sure that it was evil, it certainly was something out of the ordinary.

"Rest of the world?" Harry asked.

"Yes, the Seraphim lived on an island named Avalon. It's located-"

"West of the British Isles where there shouldn't be any land." Harry replied.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"There was a map in Azoli's house that showed where it was at." Harry answered before coming to a realization. "That wasn't her house, was it?"

"No. That was mine." Noah answered with a smile. "You really are the greatest wizard alive."

"I appreciate it. Next time, you can just tell me and not torture me and throw me around the room for a half hour."

"I'm hoping there won't be a next time."

"We'll see." Harry said. "So, all of the Seraphim gave birth and it was dwindled down to just you, right?"

"Correct."

"I am curious about something. If the Seraphim number dwindled when you mated, how did it get that big in the first place?" Harry asked curiously.

"We weren't sure. We thought that maybe we mated with Muggles or Wizards and grew. However, I wasn't alive when they did that research. To me, it doesn't matter."

"Fine. How long have you been alone as a Seraph?"

"My parents died somewhere around the beginning of the first century. Since then, I've been it. The only one of my kind and from then on, I decided that I wanted to have my place in the world secured. So, over the years, I tried different things. I tried direct takeover but it never lasted. I tried to suppliant the leader of the Roman Empire but I was unsuccessful. Finally, the idea came to me. I would allow others to do the work, inspiring them through fear to do my work, and slowly take over the world. Dumbledore stopped me by defeating Dumbledore and Voldemort failed me by somehow losing to you but I'll never be done. I will continue to recruit and continue to build and one day, sooner rather than later, I will have this whole planet resting firmly under my grasp."

"Why the vendetta against the world?" Harry asked. "You could do wonderful things for the world. There's no one to blame for why you're the only one of your kind left. Why do you feel the need to destroy everything?"

Suddenly, there wasn't just a mood shift. It was as if there was a different person seated across from him and this person was not a good one. In fact, Harry felt like he could feel the energy radiated off of the _thing _sitting across from him.

"The world doesn't deserve what it has." Noah replied simply and in that moment, he saw what was hiding behind his eyes and it wasn''t what he expected. It wasn't evil, it was madness. There was level within his mind that was plainly and simply unhinged. Whether it was years of solitude or something that came with being the last of his own species, Harry didn't know but what he did know was that something inside the mind of the man across from him was completely gone and it was terrifying to think that a man with his power was completely insane.

"The Muggles pollute the planet, Wizards destroy each other over something as simple as blood and people like you and me, people that follow the rules and should have the power, are shoved aside for people that have more money and more influence. I have more power in my pinky than any person in the world combined. There's no one that is going to challenge me."

"I will." Harry replied with determination. "I can take you down."

"You may think so, Potter. But you forgot something about my race. The power given from each parent is combined into their child and that continues all the way down. All the way down, Potter, to me. I am the most powerful being in the history of the world, Harry."

"Power by itself doesn't matter." Harry said. "You may be stronger than me but you don't believe in anything. You think that the world would be such a great place with you in charge. You think that humans are so terrible but what are you doing other than destroying the lives of billions so that you can satisfy your need to control?"

"This isn't about control, Potter." Noah growled. "This is about fixing everything that your species has fucked up since it came into being. You came from my species! The first humans were just the children of the Seraphim and to even share blood with you pathetic creatures makes me sick!"

"There's no way that you will get to take over. I will defeat you."

"You won't and I know why." Noah said, a terrifying smile on his face.

"Why?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Because you're going to join me."

It was the most simple sentence that Harry had ever heard and yet it was also the most terrifying.

"How in the hell do you think that is going to happen?"

"You know how powerful I am, Potter. If you don't join me, I will kill Hermione, Ron, the rest of the Weasleys, Chang, Davis and any other person that you value until you do join me."

"You aren't going to intimidate me." Harry replied, rage building from deep inside him. "You fight me and no one else."

"What makes you think that I care about what you think? You might be the greatest wizard on the planet and that doesn't mean anything to me. The power of every Muggles and every witch and wizard combined doesn't even hold a candle to me. You wouldn't stand a chance against me."

"We'll see." Harry said as he stood up. "I'll see you around Noah. If I see you again, whether it's ambushing me in a black cloak or in my office, I will kill you."

Standing up, Harry had forgotten how large Noah was. He stood, towering over Harry as he growled in his ear.

"You have twenty-four hours to agree to join me. If you want to be with me, meet me on the lawn at Hogwarts by Dumbledore's Tomb. If you aren't there, I start killing."

* * *

**May 31, 2004**

**12:25 PM**

**The White Tomb**

Twenty-three hours and fifty minutes later, Harry stood, staring at the tomb of his greatest mentor, fearfully knowing what was coming and knowing that there was nothing to stop it. He was going to have to fight and defeat the most powerful being in the history of their planet. Yesterday, Harry had been full of bravado and rage, bad-mouthing the eternal wizard to no end. However, with a full day to think about it, he realized just how much of an uphill battle he was fighting. He had never faced an enemy like this. He would have rather faced fifty Romanian terrorists than try and fight this battle.

However, if there was anything that Harry knew about himself, it was that he would never turn back from this. He would give his very last breath to defeat the man who he had come to value as a friend while had been in Alaska. Now, he realized what Noah's plan had been from the beginning: get Harry to eliminate The Jester and then somehow convince him to join him. While Harry thought that Noah knew that he would never join, for Noah, there was no risk. If he lost The Jester and didn't gain Harry, he would kill Harry and go on looking for his next apprentice.

"Harry?"

Of course she would be able to find him here. Harry hadn't told her about what had happened the previous day but at dinner, she had been very aware of the suddenly both angry and sullen mood of her new boyfriend. Turning around, Harry saw Cho Chang standing behind him.

"How did you find me?"

"You've been standing out here for two hours." Cho replied with a smile. "Minerva saw you nearly forty minutes ago. It took me some time to get away from work so I could come out here and see what the hell you were doing standing out here."

"I'm glad you came." Harry said with a smile. "But you need to leave."

"What? Why?"

"Because something is about to happen here and I don't want you to be here for it."

"What's going to happen, Harry?"

For the next several minutes, Harry spent his time explaining what had happened. The further into the story that he got, the more the look of horror on Cho's face grew. Once he was finally done telling Cho everything, including Noah's threat to kill all of Harry's friend, the look on Cho's face was one that he wished he could simply make disappear.

"Harry, what are you going to do?"

"I knew that he was coming here now. I plan on doing everything I can to stop him." Harry said, looking at Cho, knowing that it could be the last time. "That's why I want you to leave. I know that there's a strong probability that I lose and I don't want you to be here to see it."

"Harry, you know I'm not leaving you." Cho replied, a tear escaping her eye.

"You need to. You need to be able to accept this and walk away and live the rest of your life." Harry said, taking her hands into his. "Know that I love you and that I hope that I can still take that trip around the world with you. But, right now, you need to accept that there's a strong chance that I'm not going to walk away from this."

"Alright, Harry." Cho said, slowly nodding your head. "But now, you aren't allowed to be mad at me."

"What?"

Suddenly, he felt three more people appear around him. Turning around, he saw Ron, Hermione and Ginny had been standing behind him for some time.

"How much did you guys hear?" Harry asked softly.

"All of it." Ginny replied. "Why does it always have to be you?"

"Believe me, I'm asking the same things." Harry replied with a smile before turning to all of them. "Alright, if you're going to be here, you're going to do one thing for me. Watch this fight. If I don't survive, I want you to take note of anything that I manage to hit him with. If it's a counter shot or anything like that, make a note of it. That way, when you guys have to fight him, you can know better what you're fighting against."

"Mate, don't be talking like that." Ron said harshly. "You'll be just fine."

"I certainly hope so."

Just as those words floated out of Harry's mouth, a large gust of wind rushed towards them, nearly knocking them over. Knowing exactly what that meant, Harry looked across the grounds to see Noah, The Lost Angel, standing, wand at the ready. The look on his face was on of unadulterated and unrestrained madness.

"Potter, so nice that you brought your friends. Are they all going to join?"

"Not exactly." Harry said as he approached Dumbledore's tomb. With a wave of his wand, the top piece of the tomb cracked down the middle, leaving a slight hole in it. Reaching in, Harry pulled the Elder Wand from its hiding place. Deciding that he would need every advantage he could get, he put his own wand back inside his robes and armed himself with the Elder Wand.

"I thought we said that you were only coming here if you wished to join me?" Noah asked. "You don't listen very well, do you?"

"I don't." Harry said, his wand weighing heavily at his side and ready for action.

"Well, then I'll ask you again: will you join me? You know that we would be unstoppable, Harry."

"We probably would." Harry admitted. "However, I have no interest in being unstoppable. I only seek to ensure that every person on this planet has the opportunity to live their lives to the fullest without the interference of some magical nutjob."

As Harry's strong words returned to him, the look on Noah's arrogant face soured.

"That's too bad, Harry." Noah said before withdrawing his wand from his cloak. "I really didn't want to have to do this."

Suddenly, his wand was out. However, Harry noticed that he wasn't aiming it at him. Instead, Harry turned around to see various chains and weights had magically appeared around Cho, weighing her to the ground. Then, without warning, she was flung high into the hair, arching out over the water of the Black Lake. Within seconds, she hit the water hard, certainly sinking quickly towards the bottom.

Rushing, Harry threw his cloak to the ground and cast a quick Bubble-Head Charm. As he raced to the water, his mind was completely blank. Unlike the last time he had sought to swim in the Black Lake, he didn't bother to test the water and despite the fact that it was quite cold, Harry raced into it as quickly as he could.

While Harry was not a fantastic swimmer by an stretch of the imagination, the adrenaline pumping into his blood made him go faster than he had ever gone. As he got deeper into the water, Harry quickly drew his wand and cast one of the more complicated spells he knew on himself: one that would partially transfigure him into an amphibian. It gave him the leg strength and webbing of a frog which would allow him to swim much quicker. He had based it off of Viktor Krum's partial Transfiguration during the Triwizard Tournament. However, Harry hadn't tried it in a few years and he hoped it would work.

Sure enough, it worked giving Harry new strength in his legs and webbing on his hands and feet much like the Gillyweed had all those years ago. Knowing that he was now racing against a very short clock, having spent nearly a minute underwater already, Harry took off at breakneck speed. Finally, Harry saw a trail of damage that would have match something heavy falling from the sky. Several underwater structures were destroyed or had holes in them and Harry knew that it had to have been Cho's body that had done it.

Taking off towards the bottom hole, Harry saw the most terrifying thing he had ever seen: Cho, tied up and unconscious, blood pouring out all over the water. As Harry approached her, he could see that she had broken several bones including one in each of her arms. Grabbing her, hoping that she was truly unconscious so that she wouldn't feel the pressure he was going to put on her, he took off towards the surface.

Seconds later, Harry reached the beach closest to the school. Eliminating all of his spell work, he stood up and dragged Cho out of the water. Instantly, he could tell that things were bad. She wasn't breathing and her face was blue as blood still poured out of her numerous wounds.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted before looking up and noticing that his friend was already on her way to him. "Hermione, please!"

Hermione, reaching Harry, knelt down and immediately went to work analyzing the injuries.

"The bones breaks are bad but they aren't life threatening. However, if we can't get her to breath soon, she won't come back."

Hearing Hermione's words, Harry instantly went to work, performing CPR, at least what he knew of it from Muggle movies. For what seemed like hours, Harry blew air into Cho's lungs and beat on her chest to no avail.

"How long did it take for him to get to her?" Ron asked above Harry.

"I'm not sure." Ginny said next to him. "He was underwater at least five minutes."

Harry could hear the words of his friends above him and knew what they meant. Still, he wouldn't believe them. He wouldn't let Cho die. If Noah killed anyone, it was supposed to be him. Cho was supposed to live! That's what Harry fought for. He did everything so that even if he died, she would live a full and happy life. Finally, Harry felt Hermione's hand take hold of his arm. Harry looked up to see tears flowing from Hermione's eyes.

"Harry, let her go." she whispered through her tears.

"No!" Harry shouted. "No, she is not gone! She'll wake up, I know she will!"

Suddenly, Harry felt Ron walk up behind and put his arms around him.

"It's alright, Harry." Ron said softly. "Just let her go!"

Harry felt lost. For a moment, he accepted the words of his two best friends, accepting that she was gone. Accepting that they would never go on their trip around the world and that she would never wake up. Then, Harry felt a fire build inside of him, one full of rage and one that couldn't be held in. Breaking free from Ron's grasp, Harry shouted.

"NO!"

Turning around towards the castle, Harry headed back up the hill towards Noah, who was standing there smiling at him. At this point, Harry's mind had stopped working. Instead, all he could see was rage and revenge. Never before had Harry felt so out of control, so in pain. Even if he had died, he knew that he would have done so giving her and the rest of them their best opportunity to live. In the end, it was supposed to be him. It was why he had been brought back, to die for his friends, to do what he had originally intended to do all those years ago.

Instead, it was her dying for him, a role reversal that Harry couldn't comprehend.

"How ya doing, Harry?" he said evilly.

"You think this changes anything, you bastard!" Harry shouted, drawing his wand. "You think that by killing the person that I love that I'll join you! You have to be insane!

Suddenly, Harry lifted his wand, firing the most powerful Torture Curse he could fire. Surprisingly, Noah was a hare to slow and the red curse hit him directly in the chest, forcing to him to the ground, howling in pain. As he stood there, Harry continued to press, causing the main to double over in pain repeatedly. Finally, Noah was able to push the curse back and keep the pain off of him. Once he did that, he was able to throw Harry to the ground.

However, unlike their last duel, Harry made sure that did everything to retain control over his own wand, his downfall during their previous battle. So, unlike the last time, when Noah attacked him while on the ground, Harry was able to defend himself throwing up a shield while standing up.

"I thought you were some kind of superhuman." Harry growled. "Why did that hurt you?"

"The power of the Seraphim only pertains to my magic." Noah replied, panting in pain still. "I am no stronger than a normal human being and pain hurts just as bad. However, it will take more magic that you can produce to kill me."

"We'll see about that." Harry replied before leveling his wand and firing.

The Blasting Curse that exploded from Harry's wand was blocked by Noah and then, it was on. The pair traded curses and hexes in legendary fashion, causing explosions that would cause most men to recoil in fear. However, Harry Potter was not most men. Having stood against the odds of defeating the most legendary Dark Wizard of all time, Harry, while respectful of his opponent, felt all fear fade away.

For nearly ten minutes, both men struck at each other while causing various amounts of damage. By the time the pair stopped to recover some of their energy, Harry appeared to have several broken bones and Noah was nursing several bruises and an enormously deep cut on the center of his chest.

"I must admit, Harry." Noah said, speaking in between deep breaths. "I have underestimated you. Human or Seraph, there is something to be said for someone with true determination."

"Is that supposed to be some kind of compliment?"

"I suppose. However, it will not matter. Over time, your magic will begin to dwindle as you tire. Mine, on the other hand, will not. Eventually, you will not be able to cast a single spell and I will be able to destroy you."

"Not if I destroy you first." Harry replied defiantly.

"You don't understand, Potter. The amount of magic required to kill me would probably kill you."

"That's something I'm willing to risk."

Again, Harry attacked. However, just like Noah had predicted, there was noticeable difference. With his body weak and wearing down, Harry's attacks were slower, weaker and less confident as Noah's seemed to get stronger. For what seemed like hours, Harry attempted to defy his body and fight a physically superior opponent.

However, six minutes later, Harry was hit with a cutting curse in the arm. Falling to the ground, Harry suddenly felt himself launched across the ground, landing hard against a tree. Looking up, albeit with double vision, Harry saw Noah marching towards him, a cocky smirk on his face. Lifting his arm, Harry attempted to attack again. However, the moment he lifted his arm, he felt his hole body freeze-up. When Noah reached him, he knelt down, his evil smile staring Harry in the face.

"You know what?" Noah said, as if he was going to tell a joke. "Originally, I was going to kill you if you didn't join me. However, the fact that you actually managed to hurt me and coupled with the fact that we both know that you can't stop me, I think I'll just let you be so that you can watch as I bring down everything that you hold dear."

"Why?"

"Punishment." Noah growled menacingly. "You hurt me and I don't like that."

Noah stood up, smiling at his handiwork, and walked away. Within a few moments, he had made his way to the edge of the grounds and Apparated into nothingness. Once he was gone, Ron, Hermione and Ginny raced towards him with Hermione fixing most of his injuries rather quickly. However, the wounds to his body were nothing compared to the wounds of his mind. He had been so much closer than he had been during their last duel. He had actually hurt him and he had seriously thought he stood a chance.

Then, before Harry could even comprehend what had happened, it was over.

Ignoring the presence of his three friends, Harry stood up and walked to the edge of the grounds, Apparating away to talk to the only people that he thought would understand what was going on and how he could change the tide of a battle that seemed certain to end in a bad way.

* * *

**Godric's Hollow**

**Graveyard at the Church of St. Clemintine**

**1:31 PM**

****"I don't know what to do." Harry said, leaning up against the tombstone of his deceased parents. "I've never felt like I had no chance to win. I've always had a chance but this time is different. I'm not even certain he's more powerful than I am but he has a stamina that I could never have. Not unless I was something I wasn't."

Ever since his defeat on the grounds of Hogwarts, Harry had spent him time talking to the memory of his parents. Harry thought that they would have known exactly what he was feeling. Knowing that their home had been compromised by Lord Voldemort, they didn't run. Instead, they charged on towards a foe that they knew would defeat them. Their bravery was something Harry had always been proud to have inherited but right now, it was lacking.

And it was lacking because Harry was fighting an opponent that seemed to be absolutely unbeatable.

"I figured that I would find you here."

Harry looked up to see Hermione Weasley-Granger standing in the archway to the graveyard.

"Where are the other two?" Harry asked hoarsely.

"I sent them on a wild goose chase to find you." Hermione said with a smile. "I wanted to be the one to find you."

"Why?"

"Because I know why you're here, Harry. I saw that battle, remember? You can fight him. You know it and I know it."

"But I can't keep up with him long term." Harry answered. "His stamina is impossible to overcome. He may not be stronger than me but with that stamina, with the fact that he'll never ever tire, there's no way I can win."

"There is. You just need to embrace it."

"What is that?" Harry asked, desperate for something.

"You need to remember what made you such a deadly duelist when you were an Auror. Do you remember why no one wanted to duel you in training sessions?"

"They thought that I was dirty." Harry said with a smile. "I used other things in the room and made advantages that no one thought about."

"It's only fighting dirty if there are rules to go by to begin with." Hermione replied as she came and sat down next to him. "Remember that, because right now, we need an awful lot of fighting dirty."

"I'll try and remember that." Harry said. "Why did you come?"

"Because I know you. I always have or at least for quite awhile now. When you left, ignoring all three of us I might add, the look on your face was one that I had never seen on you before. You may have been nervous in the past but you have never lacked for confidence once you got into something. As you walked away, I realized what you were feeling."

"What is that?"

"You felt lost. Defeated, even. And you felt this despite the fact that Noah made the greatest mistake he could have ever made."

"What mistake would that be?" Harry asked, a smile appearing on his face, remember an uncountable number of conversations with his best friend that had ended up this way.

"He let you live." Hermione said happily. "He let you live after he killed Cho. So, now only did he give you the motivation, he gave you the opportunity to make good on it. Plus, he gave the greatest duelist of his time the ability to see him in action and analyze him before engaging him again."

The mention of Cho, laying dead on the beach of the Black Lake, drove Harry to a dark place, despite Hermione's rampant optimism.

"What did you do with her?" Harry asked softly.

"We took her body back to Potter Manor." Hermione replied quietly. "We laid her in her old room until we can make arrangements for her."

"Good." Harry said as he stood up, dusting off his pants. "Now, what do we do next?"

Just as Hermione was about to answer, a Patronus shaped like a Jack Russel Terrier came racing into the graveyard. Stopping just feet in front of him, it spoke up in Ron's voice.

_"Harry, I don't know where you are but I hope this finds you. Noah has come to the Ministry and taken Percy and fifteen other people captive inside the Atrium. He's going to kill one of them for every fifteen minutes that Hermione doesn't show up. I don't know where she's at but I imagine that she's with you. Meet me outside the Atrium in ten minutes."_

__As the Terrier finished its message, it disappeared into nothing. Looking at Hermione, he couldn't help but smile a bit.

"Well, I guess this is what we do next."


	18. XVIII

**May 31, 2004**

**1:53 PM**

**The Entrance to the Ministry of Magic**

As Harry and Hermione Apparated to the spot that Ron had designated, they saw Ron approaching them a look of worry etched on his face. Moving quickly, Ron made his way to them.

"Good, you're here." Ron said, taking a few deep breaths as he obviously tried to calm himself down.

"What happened?" Harry asked quickly, knowing that they were running out of town.

"He just waltzed right in and pulled Percy and half of his office right out of their offices. He magically bound them and then marched them into the Atrium. A few Aurors tried to stop him but he just blew through them. As it is, I'm not sure if they're dead or not. After that, another group of about twenty tried to charge him but he just blew them away. I know that group is fine. Once he was done with that, he amplified his voice and said that if Hermione didn't show up within fifteen minutes, he was going to start killing hostages."

"How many minutes do we have until he kills the first one?" Hermione asked with worry.

"Two. Three at the most." Ron replied. "We need to think of something."

"No we don't." Harry shot back. "Hermione, you and I will walk in. I will publicly challenge him to a duel in exchange for the lives of everyone in the Ministry. If he accepts, I can beat him."

"Can you, Harry?" Ron asked skeptically. "He kind of threw you around last time."

"That was last time." Harry replied boldly. "I've learned. Anyway, if he accepts, I beat him. If he doesn't, he'll look like he's afraid of me and I might be able to rally some support to defeat him using the whole group gathered in the Atrium."

"Sounds like suicide." Ron replied.

"I don't think so." Hermione said with a smile. "We know that Noah won't deny Harry's challenge."

"Right." Harry said before turning to the two of them. "Get any DA members that aren't already here. Tell them that they need to be placed around the Ministry with their coins. If I lose, activate the coins and Ron, you will coordinate an attack that will take him down. My goal is that, even if I don't win, I physically tire him enough that he won't be able to defend all of you."

"Will do, Harry." Ron replied.

Looking between the two of them, Harry realized that it was entirely possible that this would be the last time the three of them would ever be together. Suddenly, flashes of memories from age eleven to now came rushing to him. From the troll in the dungeon and the Shrieking Shack to the Department of Mysteries and the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry couldn't imagine his life without the pair of them.

"Guys..." Harry started before he was suddenly attacked by a huge hug from Hermione.

"Don't say it." Hermione whispered in his ear. "You will survive. You always survive."

"I'll do what I can." Harry whispered back as he looked at Ron. All he got from his oldest friend was a simple nod of the head. It was the most communication he would get from Ron but in the end, it was all he needed. Knowing their time was running low, Harry broke away from Hermione, avoiding her teary gaze.

"It's time to go." Harry said softly before turning and walking into the Atrium, flanked by his two best friends. The scene in front of him was terrifying. The place where there had once been a statue had been replaced with a crudely carved stone throne where Noah had placed himself, towering over the crowd that surrounded him. Beneath him was a cage that had obviously been magicked into the room. Inside the cage was Percy Weasley and fourteen other terrified looking Ministry workers. As they walked in, Noah was in the middle of a very important speech.

"Harry Potter is dead." he said boldly. "You should have known not to put your trust in such a coward. You would have been better of just running and hiding. Instead, you put your greatest defender against the likes of me and he was destroyed! Today marks an important date in the Wizarding World! Today begins the reign of The Lost Angel, the last of the Seraphim!"

As Noah continued to shout his speech, Harry and Hermione made their way closer to the front of the crowd. Noah was so engrossed in his speech that he was ignoring that the greatest threat to his existence was slowly marching his way closer to them. Finally, the pair reached the front of the crowd as Noah continued.

"Time is up! I have asked for Hermione Granger and I do not see her! Therefore, I shall do as I said and kill one of these pathetic creatures below me."

Knowing that now was his time, Harry spoke up.

"You will do no such thing!" Harry shouted, stepping into the open space between the circle of people and the throne where Noah was seated. "Hermione Weasley is here! But that doesn't matter! I, Harry James Potter, challenge you, The Lost Angel, to a duel to the death in exchange for the lives of every person in this room!"

Following the voice, Noah whipped his head around to see Harry standing before him defiantly. His initial reaction was a dark chuckle followed by leaping down from his throne, landing only a few feet from Harry.

"You dare challenge me?" Noah growled. "I will not accept a challenge from someone like you, Potter."

Whispers echoed around the room as the news of his denial made its way around the room. Sensing that the tide of the crowd was obviously with him, Harry spoke up again.

"I thought you said that I was already dead, Noah." Harry said mockingly. "Don't you want the opportunity to prove that you aren't a liar?"

Suddenly, the whispers turned into shouts and taunting, exactly what Harry had hoped for.

"If you plan on ruling these people, they at least want to know that you can beat one lowly wizard." Harry added, continuing to mock the ancient being in front of him who was slowly progressing more and more into anger. "That is, if you actually can beat me, since you only seem to be capable of hurting me."

Finally, the straw that broke the camel's back had fallen.

"I accept your challenge, Harry Potter." Noah growled, a rage burning deep within him that Harry could see emanating from his very being.

"Then you swear that if I lose this duel, not one other person in this room will be harmed." Harry said, pressing Noah to ensure that he would get exactly what he wanted. Harry extended his hand, indicating that this was to be magically binding.

"I swear." Noah said, roughly shaking Harry's hand before turning around and marching off the steps between them, giving them some space. As everyone else in the room realized what was about to happen, they took several steps back. Harry took this opportunity to ensure that he was the champion of everyone in this room.

"The man in front of you was in charge of Grindelwald, Lord Voldemort, The Jester and The Frenchman!" Harry shouted. "This man is responsible for the death of hundreds of our countrymen! I know that he doesn't look old enough to have done those things but I promise you, it is true! If you haven't believed a single thing I've ever said, then believe me when I say that this is the most dangerous man in the history of our nation!"

"I've seen it!" came a voice from the crowd that Harry recognized as Hermione's. "I've seen his power and heard the testimony, he's telling the truth!"

While Harry's words alone had not struck up much of a reaction, the support of Hermione Granger's words, the woman who had famously testified against Harry Potter, seem to validate them. Instantly, the room shrank away as fear grasped the room. Suddenly, everyone in the room knew the stakes of what was going to happen. Harry Potter and this mystery man who had supposedly trained every Dark Wizard of the last century were going to duel to the death.

"Potter, your words are strong." Noah said roughly. "However, words will not win you this duel."

"They won't need to." Harry said as he withdrew the Elder Wand. Harry knew that he was playing with fire, risking the possession of the Elder Wand to Noah. However, if Harry couldn't beat Noah with the power of the Elder Wand, then he had serious doubts that anyone could have beaten him anyway.

Taking one last deep breath, Harry raised his wand and fired. Instantly, Noah sidestepped the attack and fired one of the quickest barrages that Harry had ever felt. He could tell that Noah was trying to end the battle quickly. He could also see that he had certainly trained The Jester as he was utilizing her favorite technique of overwhelming her opponent with offense.

However, Noah had made one fatal mistake with that. He had taught Harry how to defend it. Side-stepping, rolling and shielding, Harry dodged or blocked every single attack that Noah threw at him. As his frustration grew, so did the intensity and frequency of his attacks. Eventually, it ended up being one solid stream of assaults that Harry was fighting against. While he was doing well at defending, Harry knew that he had no chance of winning this duel if he wasn't able to attack. However, just as Harry made an attempt to attack, he felt an Exploding Curse hit his left hip, causing his hip to crack and blood to flow freely.

Collapsing to the floor, Harry rolled away, knowing that the second he hit the ground Noah would aim to kill. Sure enough, as he rolled away he saw several flashes of green hit just behind him. Waving his wand, he did his best to heal his injuries and then again used his wand to launch himself into the air and onto his feet. Continuing the motion, Harry leveled his wand and fired.

_"Aguamenti!" _Harry said as a jet of water came rushing out of Harry's wand and towards his opponent. The water hit Noah directly in the face, knocking him off guard. However, he recovered quickly and again launched another barrage of attacks.

Already Harry could feel his muscles and his magic start to resist him when he fired another curse. Harry knew that he had to hold on and to ignore that feeling, fighting as he continued on defending himself. Unfortunately, a Banishing Charm hit Harry directly in the chest, throwing him the length of the room into a part of the circle of people that had surrounded them.

As Harry hit the ground, he felt his body ready to give in. He was exhausted from spending much of his time defending himself and couldn't seem to convince himself to get up. He knew that Noah was coming for him. He knew that more than likely, Noah wouldn't play nicely and end things quickly. Harry felt everyone around him scatter which was a strong indication that Noah was close.

"You did better earlier today, Potter." Noah said as he knelt down next to him. "You simply cannot recover that quickly. You're tired, you're weak and you are beaten. Now, do me a favor and just let me kill you and end things right here."

Harry sat silently, thankful that Noah respected him enough to not torture him before he killed him. Harry had never felt so tired and never been so ready for everything to be over. He was going home. He was going to be able to see his parents, Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore, Lupin, Fred, Tonks, Cho and everyone else that had left this world for the next. To be honest, with as broken and exhausted as Harry's body was, Harry did not fear the world that lay beyond. He was sad that the world would be subjected to the leadership of someone like The Lost Angel but he knew that eventually someone would take him down.

The world would not end with the death of Harry Potter, of that he was certain. Just as Harry closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate, the voice of Hermione Granger screamed over the silence in the room.

"Remember what he did, Harry!" she shouted. He could hear the fear and sadness in her voice. "Remember who he killed!"

Suddenly, Harry thought of that list of people that he had been excited to see. His parents were killed by Voldemort, Cedric by Pettigrew, Siruis by Bellatrix, Lupin had been murdered by Dolohov as had Tonks. Fred was killed by MacNair and Cho had been personally killed by Noah. In fact, of that list, only Dumbledore had chosen his death. All the rest of them had been killed by Noah or someone who worked for him.

Then, in a moment, Harry realized that every terrible thing that had ever happened in his life was tied to this tyrant. Opening his eyes, he saw Noah kneeling over him, his wand in hand and moving as his mouth began to utter the words that would end his life. As Harry watched, he felt an energy that he had never felt before. In a flash, Harry's wand rose up and a green jet of light blasted Noah directly in the chest.

Instantly, Noah's body was thrown up and launched across the room and landing at the base of his crude throne. However, as Harry got to his feet, he saw that not even that had done the trick. At least not entirely. As Harry stood, so did Noah. However, the center of Noah's robes smoked and Harry could see that there was something in his eyes that he had never seen before.

Fear.

Knowing that this was his time to press what advantage he might have, Harry made the ultimate gamble. Reaching into his robes, Harry withdrew his one wand, leaving it in his left hand and paired it with the Elder Wand in his right. Harry had practiced this before but had never thought to use it in an actually duel. Now, the pace that he wished to fight at required something like this.

Aiming his wand at the ground, Harry launched the first spell of the new duel.

_"Glacius!"_

Instantly, all the water that Harry had put on the floor earlier turned to a thick layer of ice. Harry, having spent much time in Alaska defending Barrow from vampires, had learned how to move well on ice without losing power or agility. Noah had not had the same training. The moment the ice formed, Harry moved forward.

_"Crucio!"_

_"Confringo!"_

_"Incendio!"_

_"Expulso!"_

_"Stupify!"_

_"Expelliarmus!"_

_"Expulso!"_

_"Confringo!"_

_"Crucio!"_

The speed at which Harry's spells were coming made even watching the duel difficult. However, it made it even more difficult for Noah. Harry knew that Noah was a powerful wizard and each every one of his protege's had been trained by him and none of them specialized in defensive magic. They all believed that their massive advantage in magical ability would mean that they wouldn't need to defend themselves. Normally, they were right.

This time, Noah was wrong. As Harry continued to press, Noah slipped all over the ice, taking attack after attack. By the time that Harry let up, Noah was bleeding, burned, had several broken bones and could barely stand from the pain. Smiling, Harry decided to continuing to press his advantage. This time, he focused on attacking him much like he had trained his people to do so.

After breaking through his defense, Harry magically banished Noah into the wall behind him. His body hit the wall so hard that it caused the entire massive Atrium to shake for a moment. Once Noah hit the ground, Harry kept on him, throwing him from wall to wall. Several times, Harry even sent him through the walls into the next room only to Summon him back into the room.

Finally, several minutes later, Harry stood over a broken and beaten Noah. Despite the magical reserves of the being in front of him, as he had said, he was just as susceptible to physical injury as the normal wizard or human. All you had to do was get past the magic.

"Get on your knees." Harry ordered. Through a broken jaw, Noah mumbled something.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear you."

This time, Noah was only marginally more clear.

"Prrease ret me go." Noah begged without moving his mouth. "I promise I rreave you arrone."

"Oh, it's too late for that, Noah." Harry said, disgust creeping into his voice. Harry had never felt so powerful and so in control in his life. "You had opportunities over two thousand years to leave us alone. Instead, you decided that you wanted to take over the world, starting here. Unfortunately for you, I'm not going to put up with that. Now, get on your knees."

With much effort, The Lost Angel did as he was told, placing himself gingerly on two knees which may have been broken.

"You are defeated." Harry said as he leaned in to whisper in his ear before standing up and aiming his wand directly at his head. "Go to hell."

_"Avada Kedavra!" _Harry shouted, feeling the power behind the words and knew that for the first, and hopefully last time, Harry truly meant the words that would kill the man in front of him. The green jet of light hit Noah directly in the head. However, just like the previous time, Noah did not sag and collapse into death. Instead, he kept himself propped up, staring Harry in the eyes and laughing madly behind his broken jaw.

"I tord you that you did not have da magic to kirr me." Noah said madly.

Feeling a rage that he had never felt before, Harry lined up again. This time, he didn't fire just once.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

___"Avada Kedavra!"_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

___"Avada Kedavra!"_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

Five more times, the green flash hit Noah and five times, he did not go down. Instead, he stared madly and laughed at Harry as he stood in wonder at the creature before him, exhausted and angrier than he had ever been in his entire life. However, Harry did notice something. Every time Harry hit him, he appeared to end up a little weaker like Harry was destroying parts of his magic.

Also, the more Harry hit him, the more unintelligible the Lost Angel's words got. Now, Harry didn't understand a single word that he was saying.

One more time, Harry lined up, this time aiming for where his heart would be.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

Again, another five times. This time, however, the attacks had a noticeable effect. Noah looked up at him, a noticeable look of fear on his face. Maybe he was looking at death, slowly heading down the tunnel. Deciding that he was going to ensure that he was going to finish the trip down that tunnel, Harry attacked. Only this time, he didn't stop at five or ten or even twenty. In fact, Harry had no idea the number of green flashes he saw. With both wands firing as quickly as they could, Harry lost count rather quickly.

However, Harry did remember seeing the one thing he had been looking for. After one particularly powerful green jet struck Noah, he shouted slightly, almost a release of sound more than an actual shout. Following that release was his body going completely limp to the ground. Instantly, Harry saw Ginny, who he hadn't even known was there, race out of the corner of his eye and crouch down next to Noah's body. After several seconds, she confirmed what he had already thought.

"He's dead." she replied, tears in her eyes.

Tears of joy. Suddenly, Harry watched as Noah's body disappeared, fading into nothing but dust. Finally, the man who had tortured Great Britain for nearly eighty years was gone.

"Thank god." Harry replied before he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

**September 1, 2004**

**9:45 PM**

**Barrow, AK**

Looking at his finished product, Harry couldn't have been prouder of himself. The house that had burned down all those months ago back when he knew nothing of The Lost Angel had been rebuilt with the occasional help of some friends. Harry had been in St. Mungo's for nearly three weeks until his magic levels re-stabilized after his duel with Noah. Apparently, Noah had been correct in that it would take almost all of his magic to kill him. Thankfully, it had been _almost _all of his magic.

After his time in St. Mungo's, Harry had instantly made his way back to Barrow where everything had began for him. Unknowingly, his battle against Noah had began in that house as had his love for Cho.

Over the past three months, his friend's had been sure not to mention Cho too much around him. As it was, Harry missed her desperately. She had been the person who had brought him back to being a human being rather than just a weapon to kill vampires. If there was any person that Harry would have thought that would have been the person to bring him back, Cho would not have been high on that list.

Thankfully, he had been wrong and honestly, she was the one to thank for that. Unfortunately, there was no one to thank now. Almost every night, Harry woke up with nightmares of Cho's body being flung into the Lake. Several times, he thought he had heard her voice, felt her hand on his skin and even felt her lips on his. In the end, Harry knew that this wasn't possible.

Cho Chang was gone. Apparently they had had a memorial service for her while Harry had been unconscious at St. Mungo's. When he left the hospital, he went to her gravesite. She had been buried on the lawn of Potter Manor according to her own wishes. On that day that Harry had visited with her for hours, sobbing to himself, mourning the loss of the person who meant the most to him.

However, after the mourning was over, Harry decided that Barrow was the place for him once again for a couple reasons. Firstly, it was as far away from Potter Manor, the Ministry and Cho Chang's grave as he could be. Secondly, there was some amount of investigation that Harry wished to do when he got there. While he spent his time rebuilding his home in Barrow, he also set out to search Noah's house.

What he saw when he got there made him angrier than anything he could have imagined. There was nothing there. The house itself was absolutely empty. No bed, no furniture, nothing. Instantly, Harry suspected that someone had moved everything but when he had really done his research, he found that no one had been in this house in years. While Harry had known that Noah had come to Barrow specifically for him, he had never thought that Noah wasn't really living there. For some reason, that thought made him incredibly angry.

After Harry finished marveling at the house that he had rebuilt almost entirely by hand (save for a few magical adjustments to make cutting and nailing easier), Harry walked to the outskirts of town to a cliff that overlooked the sea to the north. Looking out, you could see nothing but water. Harry didn't know how long he had been standing there, simply staring into the void when he heard someone come up from behind him.

"How's it going, Harry?"

Harry turned around to see Ginny Weasley walking up behind him. Taking his arm, she held herself close to him, attempting to steal some of his body heat to stave off the cold. For almost the entire time that he had been in Barrow, one of his friends had been there with him. His thinking was that they believed that if they didn't stay with him, that he would disappear again, never to be seen by any of them.

The truth was that Harry had no intention of fleeing and hiding from the world permanently. He simply needed some time to breath and the cold and ice of the north coast of Alaska was once again perfect for that.

"I would be lying if I said I was fine, Ginny." Harry said softly.

"No one expects you to be fine." Ginny said. "You lost the love of your life. That couldn't be easy on anyone, let alone someone who has already lost so much."

"I guess I should be better practiced at losing someone then."

"I hope not." Ginny replied. "No one wants you to become a machine."

"I guess."

For several minutes, the pair just stood there. As time passed, Harry thought back to six years ago. Despite the cold, Harry would have done anything to be standing here with Ginny, away from the rest of the world, knowing that his greatest enemy had been defeated. While the thought was still nice, it wasn't the same.

Even though Harry and Cho hadn't spent a lot of time together and they were really just starting to test the boundaries of their relationship, there was something hidden just underneath the skin of their relationship that made things so much greater than a normal starting relationship would have been. Just thinking that the two of them hadn't gotten the opportunity to really explore each other within their relationship burned Harry to the core. It left him breathless and shaking with an anger that was more than simple rage. It was a question of fairness in the world that burned him. The world seemed to have its place for Harry and it wasn't one of happiness and joy and love. Certainly he had his friends to support him and they were great but Harry desperately wanted someone for himself, someone that he could share anything with.

He had had that with Cho. However, the world didn't seem to want that for him. Instead, he was to be a soldier, a defender of the peace and his friends and family. If that was to be his life, then Harry would simply have to accept that as it was.

"How was the first match?" Harry asked softly.

"First _two _matches." Ginny corrected. "Oliver and I played pretty well both matches. We won the first match again Falmouth 210-30 but it should have been over much quicker. McBride missed the Snitch four times before he finally caught it. We were only luck that Falmouth's Seeker is dreadful."

"Who is it?"

"Galvin Gudgeon." Ginny said with a smile as she spoke the name of her Seeker with the Harpies last season. "She was terrible."

"I'm sure she was." Harry replied as he turned to lead her back to town. "What about the second match?"

"400-100." Ginny answered dully. "Puddlemore flattened us. I think they intentionally told their Seeker not to look for the Snitch."

"Who is their Seeker?"

"Terrence Higgs." Ginny replied. "Remember him?"

"Yeah, he was a Slytherin seventh year when I was a first year." Harry said with a smile. "I think he was the only member of their team that didn't try to cheat excessively."

"Yeah, he seems to be a pretty decent guy and he's a pretty good Seeker although he does tend to have a rather foul mouth during the matches."

"Just remember to have your wand and the next time he mouths off, just hex him." Harry suggested.

"I don't think I can do that. This isn't the Hogwarts League anymore, Harry." Ginny scolded him, albeit with a smile on her face.

As sun finally started to fall over the horizon, the pair reached town. Navigating their way down the snow-filled main street, they finally made their way to Harry's house. Once there, Harry led Ginny through the door of his house where they quickly went their separate ways to shower and change clothes for the evening.

Harry finished first and made his way to the living room where he picked up the copy of the Daily Prophet that he had Flooed to him everyday. Surprisingly, there was little mention of anything of worth and nothing on the disappearance of Harry Potter. For weeks after the battle, the Prophet had speculated as to what Noah was. None of the guesses were even close and Harry wasn't about to give them the real answer. Watching them guess was simply too much fun.

Once Ginny finished, she too came downstairs and placed herself next to him on the couch.

"When is the next match?" Harry asked, not looking up from the paper.

"We play Chudley on Friday." Ginny replied softly. "Why?"

"I think I'll make it back for that game." Harry answered, finally putting the paper down to reveal an evil smile. "No better time to than against Chudley where I can freak out your brothers _and _play against Viktor before he retires."

"You are seriously going to play your first Quidditch match in nearly eight years, with no practice, against one of the greatest Seekers to ever played the game?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"Ginny, I just killed an angel. Viktor Krum will be nothing." Harry said with a hearty chuckle. "Just don't tell anyone."

* * *

**September 3, 2004**

**Pride Pitch**

**6:55 PM**

**Portree, UK**

As Harry stood in entrance to the stadium, he couldn't remember being more excited. For the first time in eight years, Harry Potter was going to be playing Quidditch and this time, he was getting paid to do it. For the last two days, Harry hadn't been able to stop smiling as he thought of the reaction on Ron and George's faces when he came out of the entrance tunnel.

Harry had snuck back into England earlier this afternoon via a Muggle airplane from New York City to London. The entire ride there, all Harry had been able to think about was Arthur Weasley and his lifelong desire to find out how aeroplanes stayed in the air. Tears rolled down his eyes as he thought of all the other silly Muggle things that Arthur would have liked to see in Barrow. Unfortunately, Harry would never get to show him any of them.

Once he had been in London, he had immediately made his way to Potter Manor. As he expected, Tracey Davis was still there, basically operating as the home owner until Harry's return. He briefly spoke with her before telling her not to tell anyone that he was home. Then, he made a brief trip to the lawn to see Cho's grave before returning inside to enter her room. Harry had decided several hours before that he wanted something of Cho's to keep with him on the Pitch. After all, it had been her words that had convinced him that he didn't have to be an Auror after the battle with The Network was over.

As he entered the room, he instantly saw what he wanted: a necklace that Cho had worn almost every day. It was silver with a crest of Ravenclaw hanging from it. It was elegant yet not overly complicated, just like Cho had been. Placing the necklace in his pocket, Harry left the house to go to Portree.

He arrived at six o'clock, greeted by Ian, Oliver, Ginny and the rest of his new teammates. He recognized most of them for having played on other teams in the past. As he got dressed, Ginny gave the instructions for the match.

"Krum is the one we need to worry about." Ginny started. "Harry is plenty good enough to keep up with him but let's give him some help. Beaters, don't even bother with playing the Quaffle or their Chasers. I want ever Bludger you hit aimed towards Krum, got it?"

The two Beaters, Finbar Quigley, formerly of the Ballycastle Bats, and Joey Jenkins, formerly of the Chudley Cannons, smiled and nodded.

"Oliver, you do what you do."

Oliver, standing stoically in the corner of the room, simply nodded his head.

"Chasers, as we've worked on all week, their Chasers play terrible one-on-one defense. So, when you get the Quaffle, press them."

The other two starting Chasers, Catriona McCormack and former Slytherin chaser, Marcus Flint, both of whom had played their whole career in Portree, nodded in confirmation.

"Reserves, don't expect a lot of action tonight. I think this game is going to be moving too quickly for a lot of subs."

The three reserves, Alicia Spinnet, Troy Duvall and Stephen McBride, all stared blankly, obviously trying to avoid a look of disappointment.

"Harry, just catch the damn Snitch before this thing takes too long."

"I'll do what I can." Harry said with a smile.

That had been almost a full hour ago. Now, Harry stood behind the rest of the team, waiting to be introduced. The buzz of the stadium was incredible and it made the hair on Harry's neck stand on end. He could hear the voices of little kids come to watch Quidditch legend Viktor Krum play. There were plenty of rumors that, despite Viktor's still relatively young age, he was playing on retiring after this season. The reasons behind that were unclear but what was clear was that he appeared to be going around playing on a sort of "goodbye" tour.

Well, Harry planned on letting people know who would replace him as the best by the end of today's match.

Suddenly, the announcer's voice echoed over the crowd.

_"Good evening and welcome to this British and Irish Quidditch League match between the Chudley Cannons and the hometown Pride of Portree!"_

A swell of cheers roared from the crowds and Harry grinned as the stadium itself seemed to shake from the noise.

_"The Cannons enter today's match at 2-0 with the Pride at a record of 1-1. Now, the introductions for the Chudley Cannons! For the Cannons, we have Snyder, Calland, Knight, Oxley, Newell, Yates and Krum!"_

Despite the fact that the Cannons were the away team, a scream went over the crowd as the Cannons, and more specifically Viktor Krum, were introduced. However, match that scream was also a descant of "boo!" that matched it in volume.

Now, Harry couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to be on that pitch so much that he was ready to skip the introduction and just go out and play.

_"Now, for the Pride of Portree, we have our Beaters: Finbar Quigley and Joey Jenkins!"_

At the front of the line, Harry saw Finbar and Joey scream out of the tunnel and into the crowded stadium beyond to torrid screams.

_"Next, we have our Chasers: Marcus Flint, Catriona McCormack and last year's Most Valuable Player, Ginny Weasley!"_

This time, three brooms raced out into the crowd to even louder shouts. As they flew around the stadium, Harry could hear shouts of "MVP!" along with banging and stomping in the stadium.

_"Our Keeper, coming to us from the Puddlemore United and last year's Most Oustanding Keeper, Oliver Wood!"_

"See ya out there, Harry." Oliver said with a smile before taking off into the stadium and his own set of cheers. Looking out, Harry was the only person left in the tunnel. As he realized this, he looked down at the necklace of Cho's that he was wearing.

"This is it, Cho." Harry said with tears forming in his eyes. "This is for you."

Then, for the last time, the announcer's voice rang out.

_"Tonight, we have a special surprise! The newest addition to the Pride of Portree is the biggest free agent signing of the past decade! This player played for five years at Hogwarts, leading his team to a winning record every season and a Quidditch Cup in his third and sixth years! This man defeated The Dark Lord and The Lost Angel, not three months ago! The Seeker for your Pride of Portree, The Man-Who-Lived, **HARRY POTTER!"**_

Mounting his broom, Harry bolted out of the tunnel as quickly as he could. The explosion of sound that hit his ears as he did was deafening. The whole stadium seemed to explode with sound. As Harry flew around the pitch, he looked up to the Top Box where he saw two redheads. Deciding that he had time before the start of the match, Harry raced up to the Box where George and Ron Weasley sat, dumbfounded.

"You could have told us you were playing today!" Ron shouted at him, smiling from ear-to-ear. "Why this game?"

"I could never miss the opportunity to put the Cannons back where they belong?"

"And where is that?" George asked harshly.

"The bottom of the league." Harry said with a grin before leaning over the railing and shaking both of their hands. "Good luck, gentlemen."

"I hope you fall and break your leg." George replied with a grin.

"Knowing me, it's not out of the ordinary." Harry answered before taking off to set his location before the match began. As he reached his spot, Viktor Krum extended his hand. Harry took it graciously.

"I vas vorried that I vould never get to play the legendary Harry Potter." Viktor said with a smile.

"Not to worry, Viktor. You'll get your chance."

"So it seems." Viktor said before turning back to the referee.

Harry turned as well just in time to see both the Quaffle and the Snitch released. Instantly, Harry took off towards the sky where he could get a much better view of the game. As he looked down, Harry was still amazed to see the speed of the game. Finally, establishing his place, Harry listened in to the announcer.

_"...Weasley has the Quaffle, passes it to Flint, back to Weasley and to McCormack. NO! It's intercepted by Snyder who passes to Calland and on to Knight who throws it back to Snyder but not before Weasley picks it off. Weasley races to the other end where she moves past Snyder and Oxley. A quick spin and a pass to Flint, WHO PUTS IT PAST YATES! GOAL! 10-0 Pride!"_

As Harry listened in to the announcer, he decided he was going to try something absolutely insane. Slowly, Harry started drifting to his right, as if he was trying to get a better view on something. As he expected, Viktor did the same.

Viktor was marking him.

Taking a deep breath, Harry decided to make his move. Diving slowly at first, Harry suddenly pressed his broom to the floor, aiming straight down. Unlike the last time he had tried this maneuver, Harry was wearing goggles. Looking behind him, Harry noticed that Viktor was following him, screaming down as quickly as he could.

For as long as he could, Harry pressed down. Then, with still 100 feet until he hit the ground, Harry pulled to his left. He knew that Viktor wouldn't be convinced he was chasing the Snitch if he simply dived straight down. The Snitch never moves like that. So, Harry pulled to his left, arching high towards the sky before rolling back to his right and down towards the pitch.

Viktor was gaining on him as he completely his final roll to the right which was exactly what Harry wanted. This time, only being sixty or seventy feet from the ground, Harry dove straight down, pressing his broom to the ground as quickly as he could. Then, with only inches to spare, Harry broke up towards the crowd and then back again away from them.

Looking back, Harry was surprised to see that it had worked, sort of. While Viktor wasn't laying on the ground, he was trying to pick himself out of the bleachers. As Harry watched, he realized that Viktor didn't know where his broom was. Looking up at the scoreboard, Harry saw that it was 60-20, Pride. Deciding that he finally had time to scan, Harry flew to the sky again where he perched himself to search for the Snitch.

Several minutes later, Viktor came up next to him, looking angry and disheveled. For the next few minutes, Harry just watched the match as Ginny continued to dominate the game, scoring for goals to put the score at 100-20. Then, just when Harry thought he saw a wristwatch glowing in the lights of the stadium, Harry realized it was not a watch.

It was the Golden Snitch.

Bolting towards it, Harry looked back and noticed that Viktor wasn't following him. Obviously, he thought that Harry was trying the same tactic again. Unfortunately for him, Harry wasn't. Screaming after the small golden ball, it seemed to know it was being chased. Just as Harry got to it, it took off in a strange winding pattern. Breaking his direction, Harry took off after it.

After chasing it for several seconds, Harry realized that he was being followed by Viktor. Now, Harry had a decision to make. Did he continue to follow it, leading Viktor to it or did he try and throw him off, risking Viktor realizing the trick and keep following the Snitch? Quickly, Harry made the choice to keep pressing forward.

High into the sky, the Snitch climbed, giving Viktor the opportunity to catch up with Harry. Suddenly, the Snitch dove with Harry and Viktor diving after it neck-in-neck. For several seconds, the Snitch remained just out of reach as Harry and Viktor fought for position. Then, just as quickly as the match started, Harry added another boost to his broom, launching himself forward and grasping his hand around the Snitch.

Instantly, the stadium exploded with sound. As Harry slowed himself down and landed, he could hear the announcer shouting.

_"...amazing! Potter outraced Krum to the Snitch! The Pride win 270-40! Good things are coming, Pride fans, if Harry Potter has anything to say about it!"_

His teammates surrounded him, celebrating their victory. As the celebration continued, Harry noticed Viktor come into their huddle. Leaning in, Viktor whispered into his ear.

"I half only been beaten once before in my life, Harry." Viktor said roughly. "I do not like it. Maybe retirement is not in the future for me."

Smiling, realizing what kind of rivalry he had created by beating Viktor today, Harry smile and shook Viktor's hand.

"Bring it on." Harry replied boldy before going on to celebrate the victory with the rest of his team.

* * *

**September 4, 2004**

**8:00 PM**

**Potter Manor**

The next evening, Harry decided that he was going to host a small dinner party. Nothing open to the public and nothing fancy, just dinner among friends. The guest list was rather small. Obviously, Harry was there. Then, there was Ron and Hermione, Ginny, George and Angelina, Percy and Penelope, Bill and Fleur, Charlie and Ileana, Luna, Tracey and Neville. Basically, the guest list included those that Harry would consider close friends or family. While Tracey was new, and she was finally planing on moving out of Potter Manor, Harry had been around her long enough to merit an invitation to this dinner.

The dinner had started at seven. While the food was fabulous, courtesy of Winky, Harry thought that the collection of people there was better. In fact, they were the middle of a fantastic conversation.

"So you aren't going to run for Minister of Magic next term?" Charlie asked his brother at the far end of the table.

"I don't believe so." Percy replied. "I know that it was kind of my life goal but I'm not exactly a fan of how I got the job."

"Perce, you shouldn't let that decide whether you want to do i again." Bill said. "If you want the job, you should do it."

"I'm just not certain I want it anymore." Percy replied. "I mean, with the baby on the way, I'm not certain that I want to be raising a child and running the country at the same time."

"That's certainly understandable." Hermione replied. "By the way, I've been meaning to say something."

"What is it, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I was going to do it whenever Percy retired but since he's not running again, I will."

"What?" came several people around the room.

"Whenever the election occur, I intend to run for Minister of Magic." Hermione declared boldly.

Instantly, the room exploded with applause and celebration as everyone congratulated Hermione on her decision.

"I'll support you through the whole thing, Hermione." Percy replied. "Unless I end up screwing something up and then I'll stay out of your way."

"I appreciate that." Hermione replied before turning to Harry. "What do you think?"

"Hermione, I think you'll do wonderfully." Harry answered with a smile. "Wouldn't you be the youngest Minister of Magic?"

"Not quite. Not unless another election is forced before the end of the year." Percy replied. "My hope is that it would be at least another two years so that we can establish some things before I leave office."

"Plus, your thinking more along the lines of Muggle politicians, Harry." Hermione said. "It's not altogether that rare for people of our age to hold higher offices in our world. We just hold on to them longer then. Take Dumbledore for instance. He was named Supreme Mugwump at age 30!"

"Wow." Harry mused quietly. "I'm certain you'll do great either way."

"Thanks, Harry." Hermione said.

"I hear that Draco Malfoy completed his community service." George replied. "Did the smelly little ferret bitch and moan while he did it?"

"Not really." Ron replied. "He just sat down and did it. I've heard some rumors that when his probation is up in two years, he wants to run for Minister of Magic as well."

"Well, god help us if that happens." Ginny said to the laughter of everyone around the room.

For the next several minutes, Harry blanked out of the conversation. Instead, he thought about all of the people that could have been at their table this evening and weren't.

Interrupting the conversation, Harry stood, much like he had during their last meal here, glass in hand.

"Everyone, I would like to say something." Harry said as the room quickly quieted down. "I'm very thankful that I have all of you in my life. I know that without you, the odds that my life would have taken a much darker road are very high. However, I can't help but think of every person that we've lost on the way here. My parents, Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, Arthur, Molly, Fred, Dumbledore, Colin Creevey and so many others. This journey has cost us as many lives as it has saved. But, if there is one thing that I am thankful for, it is that you were the ones who are here. Without you, I would be lost as would so many other people around our world. For that, and for surviving, I thank you and I want you all to know that I love each every one of you."

Having said his piece, Harry took his seat. Just as he did, Hermione stood up.

"I am also thankful to have you all. You adopted me into the wizarding world when I was alone in it. However, none of us would be here without Harry."

Suddenly, Hermione turned and spoke directly to him. He could feel his face getting hot with the attention he was getting from the room.

"Without you, Harry, we would all be dead. Whether it be by Lord Voldemort or The Lost Angel, we would have been murdered. You did everything you could to give your life for all of us. Thankfully, it wasn't meant to be but the gesture is not lost on any of us. We have occasionally turned our back on you and we haven't always done everything to earn your trust but I know that we all know that it is only _our _best interests in your mind. Harry, we know that you don't have a family, at least not one that's blood related to you. But know this, we are your family and we would do anything to pay you back for everything you have done for us. We would do anything and still not even come close to being able to pay you back."

Hermione reached down and picked up her glass. In turn, everyone else in the room lifted their glass as well and looked towards Harry.

"To Harry Potter. He is the Man-Who-Lived, The Boy Who Conquered, The Chosen One and The Golden Boy. However, to us, that matters little. To us, he is a friend, a brother, a confidante, an ally and someone who we know would never betray. He is always there when we need him and despite any odds, will never back down to help us. In truth, there is not a single person in this room that is good enough to call him or herself a friend of Harry Potter. And yet, Harry graces us all with his presence today, letting us know that we truly are his friends. We only hope that we can be good enough to make it worth your while in return. We love _you, _Harry. Not because of what you've done but because of who you are."

Finishing her teary-eyed speech, Hermione nodded towards Harry and then took a drink. Around the room, everyone followed her example. As Harry looked around, he realized that he hadn't brought to his home a collection of friends and of acquaintances.

He had brought together the only family that he had ever known.

For him, that was all he would ever need.

* * *

_**A/N: This is the end of "The Lost Angel: When I Leave the World Behind." I hope you've enjoyed reading it just as much as I've enjoyed writing it. There will be at least one sequel to this story that I intend on starting right away. So, if you put me on Author Alert, within the next few days, you should get an alert about a new story.**_

_**Again, thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing from you. If you have any concerns or questions, send in a review or PM me!**_

**_Thanks,_**

**_Zac_**


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